The game master software, while lacking any sort of graphical display, is nonetheless relatively advanced for the time period. The software carefully maintains the game state, keeping players honest and preventing them from attempting invalid moves. Between plotting turns, players can use the software to view information about their current status, such as their hand-held items or the contents of their ship's cargo holds. If one player is not available for a play session (since a game cannot generally be played in one sitting), his or her character can be placed in "suspended animation" while the remaining players continue to play.