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"The Game" was filmed out of order in regards to the other episodes of Stargate Atlantis. It was aired the 15th episode, but it was filmed as the 16th in the production order. Guest stars included Laura Harris as Nola and David Dayan Fisher as Baden. It originally aired on December 18, 2006.

Episode Summary - ** Contains Spoilers **

For two years, John Sheppard and Dr. Rodney McKay have been playing a computer game left by the Ancients, in which they each develop countries on opposite sides of a river in competition with one another (much like the video game series Sid Meier's Civilization). While McKay has been pushing his country ("Geldar", named after a former romantic interest of McKay's) to develop technologically, Sheppard has been encouraging his ("Hallona", named by the Ancients who created it) to develop its military.

On a routine survey mission, however, a team from Atlantis discovers that it is not, in fact, a game. Their countries, and all the people in them, are real; living on a planet somewhere in the Pegasus Galaxy. With a satellite network in orbit to track their development and Ancient technology to receive the "players'" instructions, their civilization has, in fact, been a Lantean social experiment. The team has stumbled upon McKay's country (easily identifiable by the multitude of paintings of his face throughout the village), they go to the planet to investigate.

The team visits Geldar first, where they are met by Nola; she immediately recognizes McKay as their "Oracle", and explains that their people were given life thousands of years ago and guided by the Oracle through a console, but then all communications suddenly ceased — interrupted by the war with the Wraith. Unknowingly, McKay and Sheppard have picked up where they left off.

While McKay stays with Nola, Sheppard takes Teyla and Ronon to visit "his" civilization, located across the river. There they meet Baden, the aggressive leader of Hallona. He reveals that at the command of Geldar's Oracle, the Geldarans have begun mining for valuable coal under his country. He believes that the proper response is to launch an attack.

The two leaders are brought back to Atlantis to learn about the Ancient technology and to have their dispute mediated by Dr. Weir, but they refuse to cooperate. Tensions are high, and as a result of Sheppard and McKay's "game", the two peoples now stand on the brink of war. Despite their best attempts, neither Weir, McKay, nor Sheppard can convince them to make peace, and things quickly escalate into an all-out attack.

On both sides, it soon seems as if the other side has achieved total victory. Geldar is seemingly overrun by the larger Hallonan army and its people slaughtered, while Hallona seems to have been devastated by Geldaran bombing runs (completed by use of dirigibles). After both sides admit defeat, McKay and Sheppard reveal to their respective countries that the whole display was a ruse in order to show them how costly a war could be. The Daedalus, having arrived earlier in expectation of the conflict, was transmitting fake data to each control console while using precision attacks to simulate the damage outside. It seems as though a peace has been achieved, and both civilizations set out on their own, no longer constrained by the game - which has now been deactivated and sealed at Weir's command.
- Wikipedia.org

Quotes

Elizabeth: How the hell did your face get on that flag?
McKay: Uh, I don't know. Here's the thing, though: that flag's very similar to the one I designed in our game.
Sheppard: It's exactly like the one you designed in our game.
Elizabeth: What game?
Sheppard: The game Rodney and I have been playing.
McKay: We didn't tell you about the game?
Sheppard: We've been playing for a while now.
McKay: Yeah, off and on in our spare time, you know - at night, between missions, uh... I could have sworn we told you about it?

McKay: I had to do something to protect the people of Geldar from you.
Ronon: Geldar?
Sheppard: The name of Rodney's country. He named it after a girl he stalked in college.
McKay: I did not stalk her. We dated twice. Teresa Geldar - a very cute blonde. I always used to think her name reminded me of some kind of a mythological land: the Kingdom of Geldar.
Teyla: What did you call your country?
Sheppard: Well, I just kept the name it already had.

Baden: I sent gifts of goodwill.
Nola: You sent crates of citrus fruit! Citrus! Do you have any idea what an insult that is to my people?
Baden: It didn't used to be.
Weir: OK, see, I think I know where that comes from. Did M... the Oracle tell you that citrus fruit was bad?
Nola: He made us aware of its toxic properties, yes.
Baden: Everything is toxic to you!
Baden turns to Weir.
Baden: If they're not busy insulting us, they're complaining about contaminated food, improper hygiene. Even the sunlight is dangerous to them!

McKay: Let me ask you a question. Say there's a runaway train. It's hurtling out of control towards ten people standing in the middle of the tracks. The only way to save those people is to flip a switch - send the train down another set of tracks. The only problem is there is a baby in the middle of those tracks.
Teyla: Why would anyone leave a baby in harm's way like that?
McKay: I don't know. That's not the point. Look, it's an ethical dilemma. Look, Katie Brown brought it up over dinner the other night. The question is: is it appropriate to divert the train and kill the one baby to save the ten people?
Ronon: Wouldn't the people just see the train coming and move?
McKay: No. No, they wouldn't see it.
Ronon: Why not?
McKay: Well... Look, I dunno. Say they're blind.
Teyla: All of them?
McKay: Yes, all of them.
Ronon: Then why don't you just call out and tell them to move out of the way?
McKay: Well, because they can't hear you.
Sheppard: What, they're deaf too?
McKay glares at Sheppard.
Sheppard: How fast is the train going?
McKay: Look, the speed doesn't matter!
Sheppard: Well, sure it does. If it's goin' slow enough, you could outrun it and shove everyone to the side.
Ronon: Or better yet, go get the baby.
McKay: For God's sake! I was just trying to...