The opportunity to win big is just one of the reasons betting has always been one of the most exciting leisure activities for many. In today’s time, gambling is as popular as ever, and even the movie industry has found a way to profit from it. In fact, some of the best movies about gambling made millions and are considered classics that everyone should watch at least once.
However, the blend between the movies and gambling works a bit differently in the Star Wars franchise. Namely, rather than using pre-existing games and the one you could find in your everyday land-based casinos, the Star Wars universe offers you the opportunity to bet on a ton of games and sports events that are exclusive to the Star Wars world.
If you’re curious to find out how you could gamble or what types of games you could bet on in the Star Wars universe, we’ve prepared a list of a few most prominent games.
Sabacc
It goes without saying that Sabacc is one of the most recognizable games from the Star Wars world. The game was first referenced in 1980 in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. However, the game got the biggest exposure in Solo: A Star Wars Story when Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) played Sabacc against Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover).
Ultimately, Solo manages to win against Calrissian and ends up winning the Millennium Falcon.
Even though the game was first mentioned several decades ago, we didn’t really know much about it. However, years later, we now have a full set of rules for anyone who wishes to learn how to play Sabacc.
Sabacc is Star Wars’s equivalent to Earth’s poker, and it’s often played with 76 cards spread across four different suits. Therefore, if poker is something that tickles your fancy, make sure to give Sabacc a try.
Podracing
If NASCAR, Formula 1, or Dakar Rally are too slow for you, then how about podracing?
As the name suggests, podracing involves racing in podracers, which were small repulsor craft vehicles built for racing. The vehicles reached dangerous speeds of more than 700 kilometers per hour (435 miles per hour). Because of that, not many people took part in podracing. Moreover, it’s also one of the reasons most races were outlawed by the New Republic.
Of course, that didn’t prevent podracers from competing, nor did it stop fans from betting on the races. After all, could you imagine just how different the entire franchise would be if there were no podracing and if Qui-Gon Jinn didn’t help Anakin win his freedom?
Pazaak
Even though Pazaak isn’t shown as much on the big screens, the game is mentioned multiple times across different novels, comics, video games, and more. Pazaak dates back to the times of the Old Republic, and the gameplay is quite similar to regular blackjack.
The player who’s closest to 20 without going over the number wins the round, and the player who wins three rounds wins the match. However, unlike blackjack, Pazaak is played with two different decks.
Pazaak was first introduced in BioWare’s video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic as a minigame and also made an appearance in the sequel.
Dejarik
Dejarik is also known as holochess, and it’s played between two players on a circular board. However, don’t let the name fool you since holochess is nothing like your regular everyday day chess, and the gameplay is completely different from chess.
Dejarik made its first big appearance in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope with Chewbacca playing it against R2-D2 aboard the Millennium Falcon. Coincidentally, this is also the time when we learn about one of the unwritten rules about Dejarik, which is to always let the Wookie win.
Unlike the games we mentioned previously, Dejarik isn’t necessarily a type of game you would bet your money on. However, at the same time, nothing is stopping you from spicing things up a little and making a game of Dejarik a tad more exciting and potentially profitable.
Galactic Expansion
Galactic Expansion is perhaps the least known game on our list. The game was first referenced in Aftermath, a canon novel by Chuck Wendig from 2015. As far as gameplay goes, Galactic Expansion is a board game, and it’s quite similar to Settlers of Catan.
The goal of the game is to buy tiles that hold valuable resources, such as shipping lanes, spice mines, smuggler routes, and similar.
Summary
As you can see, there’s plenty of ways to place a wager and potentially make a profit in the Star Wars universe, no matter which part of the galaxy anyone decides to visit. Apart from the games we mentioned, you could bet on Gravball, Digotto, Binspo, and many others.
Do you have a favorite game, and have you played some of them before? If you are interested, the good news is that you won’t have to visit a galaxy far, far away to play some of these games, since you can buy quite a few of them and play them in real life with your friends.