Two galactic games, one winner: Us.
Whether you’re a rebel, Imperial, scoundrel, or even a Jedi, everyone needs to cut loose once in a while. In the galaxy of Star Wars, there are plenty of pastimes to keep denizens entertained, but two of the most popular are dejarik, a holographic board game first glimpsed in Star Wars: A New Hope, and sabacc, a high-stakes card game that plays big roles in Solo: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card, the game’s first story pack released today.
What are these two games? And just how do you play them? Let’s take a seat at the table and find out.
Real-world origins
Dejarik is as old as Star Wars — and sabacc isn’t too far behind.
Dejarik: Commonly called holochess in the early days of Star Wars, dejarik was part of a key scene in A New Hope that let audiences get to know Chewbacca and his aversion to losing. (“Let the Wookiee win,” C-3PO wisely advised in the unforgettable scene.) Stop-motion rubber creatures, created by Phil Tippett and Jon Berg and voiced by Ben Burtt, stomped and battled across a chessboard-like tabletop on the Millennium Falcon. The scene was instantly iconic, thanks to dazzling special effects that gave the impression of a futuristic chess game.
Dejarik would go on to appear in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
Sabacc: While many Star Wars fans had heard that Lando Calrissian lost the Millennium Falcon to Han Solo in a card game, it didn’t have a name until 1983. The novel Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu by L. Neil Smith featured its titular character sitting down for a hand of sabacc, the official name of the game, at a gathering of unsuspecting players. Calrissian lulled his opponents into a false sense of security before running the table.
“Business is business,” he said after winning, “and sabacc is sabacc.”
Sabacc made its on-screen debut in the Star Wars Rebels season 1 episode “Idiot’s Array” — with Lando himself seated at the table. And in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, audiences were treated to two sabacc games, including the very hand on Numidian Prime that had the Falcon at stake. Sabacc made another appearance in The Mandalorian, but the video game Star Wars Outlaws marks the first time fans can get their virtual hands on a deck in-universe. In the latest update, scoundrel Kay Vess is hired to infiltrate a high-stakes sabacc tournament on the casino cruiser Morenia. As she crosses paths with the notorious Calrissian, she soon learns that another game is being played.
In-world rules
Sabacc has countless rule variations depending on where it’s played, and the rules to dejarik are nebulous — but there are some basics for both.
Sabacc: Rule variations bear names like Corellian Spike and Kessel Sabacc, the latter of which was created by Ubisoft in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games for Star Wars Outlaws. (Lando Calrissian is familiar with at least 80 different rulesets himself, the ol’ smoothie.) Each player is dealt a blood card and a sand card with numerical values. The goal is to have a hand with a difference of zero. A hand in Kessel Sabacc of 6 and 5 has a value of 1, for example. 2 and 2 has a value of zero: a sabacc.
Cheating is rampant, from stashing wild cards up a sleeve – we see you, Calrissian! – to magnetic dice manipulators, and even Nix can be used to spy on other players to help Kay get the upper hand. Just don’t get caught.
Dejarik: The holographic strategy game dejarik is a popular way to pass long periods of time traveling through hyperspace. Players sit at a circular table with a hologram generator topped by a checkered surface. With the push of a button, they command creatures to attack each other. Dejarik creatures have fascinating names, including the ghhhk, houjix, Kintan strider, molator, k’lor’slug, monnok, scrimp, bulbous, ng’ok, and Mantellian savrip.
Finn and Poe Dameron were convinced Chewbacca cheats at dejarik, thanks to his undefeated record. Chewie calmly protested his innocence. (Unlike that time he totally broke the table in Solo: A Star Wars Story, resulting in two busted creatures.)
In-world uses
While dejarik and sabacc can be played as a friendly game to pass the time, in many parts of the galaxy there’s a lot more at stake hinging on the game’s outcome.
Sabacc: When a desperate player runs out of credits, all sorts of things might be wagered and won at a sabacc table. Everything from starships to droids have changed hands after a high-stakes sabacc game, and information is exchanged just as frequently as cards at the table. Peli Motto gave Din Djarin a lead on finding more Mandalorians after he helped her score big with a hand called Idiot’s Array; the same hand won Lando Calrissian a droid named Chopper when he played against Zeb Orrelios at Old Jho’s.
Dejarik: Just like sabacc, often more than just credits are on the line when dejarik players face off. Omega paid off the Bad Batch’s debt when she played dejarik for credits at Cid’s Parlor; afterward, Hunter challenged her to a game with the tantalizing prize of joining the Batch on missions. Perhaps an even better score, Omega later won two cartons of Mantell Mix from her brother Wrecker.
Try a hand of sabacc yourself in Star Wars Outlaws, now available for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card will be automatically accessible and free to Star Wars Outlaws Season Pass owners or available for separate purchase.
