Story
The galaxy has opened up for those species that have mastered methods of interstellar travel. As systems far outside the previous limit of travel became accessible, species discovered new wonders, and each other.
By far the greatest wonder of them all is the Ooze. It is a priceless wonder; an exceptionally powerful fuel, an incredibly long-lasting energy source, and an edible, healthy food source that could sustain entire colonies for weeks with a single teaspoonful. It makes a lovely pet, is completely flame-retardant, and gives a perfect haircut every time. It quickly became the most important substance in the galaxy, used in everything from light industry to interstellar engines to fast-food "near-beef". Those who control the Ooze, control the galaxy.
The Ooze was discovered on a small moon very near to the center of the galaxy. In a move of brilliant diplomacy, the leaders of the starfaring species agreed to make access to the Ooze free to all, with amounts given to each species, distributed according to height.
Business found a loophole, however. Multi-species conglomerates found that they could acquire amounts of Ooze from each species' quota, and in so doing, corner the market and control the value of the Ooze. Instead of the Ooze being available to all, it became a commodity worth more than the lives of those who used it, far surpassing the previous top product: cow-pies, which were in a tragic confusion of translation taken by most non-humans to be an extraordinarily abundant and cheap food source.
Three things prevent the Ooze from being mined in amounts that would make it plentiful, and valueless. The first is an ecological treaty, preventing Ooze from being harvested in amounts greater than its ability to replenish itself. The second reason has more teeth: the moon of Ooze sits in the middle of an impossibly dense nebula. The nebula has only one clear, safe path from the moon to the rest of the galaxy, and thus a great bottleneck of starships entering and exiting the "Golden Road" has become a limiting factor on the exploitation of the Ooze. The third reason has confounded all: the Ooze tends to seep through the hands of those harvesting it.
Despite numerous attempts by explorers to navigate an alternate pathway to and from the Ooze, and innumerable tries by scientists to encourage the Ooze to grow elsewhere, the moon of Ooze within the Golden Nebula, dangerously close to the galactic core, with its single entry and exit, remains the only spot in the galaxy to acquire the greatest treasure of all time.
StarDate: 2642-Present
As will eventually happen wherever traffic is great, unnecessarry roadwork is called for frequently, and a pit stop developed at the entry to the Golden Road. The Oozeway, as the station quickly became known, has become a great meeting place and cultural exchange for all species who need the Ooze. It is a perfect place to perform spot inspections, and the United Planets have taken advantage of the opportunity to properly police the harvesting of the Ooze; at least with those carriers that have not contributed directly to the policeman's ball.
But all at the Oozeway is not peace and love, or even order and justice. Many of the harvesters of the Ooze are little more than mercenaries and pirates, who found the Ooze to be a more profitable and less dangerous living than their previous careers. These people created a market for the less honorable practices aboard the Oozeway, the most popular of these is gambling... Make that the second most popular activity...
These mercenaries, especially those leaving the nebula, have very little of value to gamble with, and monetary exchange rates between many species have yet to be established. Body parts were used in trade for a short time, but only the very best gamblers could afford to play for longer than a few hours. But there is one commodity that all species at the station have in common; one thing that they all have, and that they all want more of: the Ooze.
One game emerged as the platform of choice for wagering insane amounts of this very precious substance. This game rewards thought, encourages foresight, and best of all, concludes rapidly; allowing much more Ooze to be wagered than a slower game of skill. Another advantage is that the game uses the Ooze itself as playing pieces, requiring that each player have the goods he wishes to wager in hand at the commencement of the game. By prodding the Ooze with small electrodes, players encourage it to ooze, leap, and influence color changes in the opponent's Ooze. As millions look on, the ultimate in high-stakes gambling takes place, with the winnings of a single match representing months of hard work, unknown numbers of lives lost, and the well-being of entire species; much like politics. And thousands of matches take place aboard the Oozeway in each Earth day.
This game of skill once had a different name, but now it is known simply as... OOZE