“Rules of the Game” is episode two (originally shown as episode one) of season three of Sliders.
The Sliders have arrived on a plane, after visiting a frozen Earth, though Wade has a problem with flying. A woman approaches and tells the professor he looks a little out of shape for the games. They decide they could use a vacation when Quinn wonders where the stewardess is. Then an engine catches fire and the pilots are gone too. Oxygen masks come down – even though they’re a little low to be needing them – as Quinn and the professor head to the cockpit to try to control the plane. They fail.
Instead of crashing, though, the lights come on. It was a simulator, not a real plane, and an announcer welcomes them to Level 1. The new rules of the game means that only one team or surviving player can be declared a winner. Everyone else on the plane heads out and starts equipping themselves with weapons as the announcer continues talking about a holiday blood fest and things intended to kill them in an entertaining fashion. 228 million people are watching. See them at the beach.
The woman from earlier, Nicky, when asked how to get to the beach says they need to make it to the finish line. Then they’ll have enough money to go anywhere they want. With 38 hours until the slide, the professor suggests they stay inside when everyone else leaves. However, the temperature is turned up to make them leave.
The door leads to the outside of a normal looking house. There’s an explosion and the professor picks up a paper with a headline e saying it’s a good day to die. Then two lawn sprinklers open fire on them. Quinn and the professor manage to disable them. Nicky and two others drive past in a vehicle and the professor suggests they follow them. The first car they find has been destroyed by a car bomb. The second is checked over carefully.
The streets are filled with burnt out vehicles and dead bodies and there are constant gunshots. Quinn spots something and tells Rembrandt to back up as a weapon opens fire on them. They abandon the vehicle, but the professor gets blinded grabbing the timer.
Three hours later and the professor still can’t see. According to the announcer, a lot of teams have already been taken out. A dog, that may not be just a dog, growls at them.
Nicky is patching one of her teammates up, but he still dies, as the Sliders round the corner. After a tense moment, guns are lowered; if this was the last level, Nicky would kill them. But she plays by the rules. She does, however, hand over a haven key. The Sliders pass another dog; it’s an android and destroyed.
Inside the haven, the announcer says this is one of the highest rated games in history and there’s food, water and ammunition. Still over 22 hours until the slide. The professor is feeling down. Outside, human-shaped androids have taken to the streets.
Later, the professor has gone, but he’s found outside where he’s fallen over. Wade spots the androids and they head back in. However, a door separates Quinn and Wade from Rembrandt and the professor. They agree to go their separate ways to the finishing line.
The Sliders are doing surprisingly well at playing a war game they have no experience with. Perhaps because they’re not trying to win. They do need to meet up before the timer reaches zero, though, and eventually the game itself is explained.