While on their interplanetary adventures, the great and the good of the Star Wars universe seemed to have plenty of time on their hands to enjoy ‘leisure’ pursuits.
Gambling is one such pastime that is beloved by many, and of course it was during a few hands of the card game ‘Sabacc’ that Han Solo took ownership of the Millennium Falcon as payment.
His defeated opponent, Lando Calrissian, was known for his love of card games – when he wasn’t commanding the people of Cloud City or the Rebel Alliance, of course.
In the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order video game, players were introduced to Greez Dritus, who had a love for making wagers.
Of course, there’s also Canto Bight – a casino based on those found in Monte Carlo. There are also plenty that believe that the planet Tatooine, with its stark desert landscape and rampant love of gambling, is loosely modelled on Nevada, home to Las Vegas itself.
So, there is plenty of betting interest in the Star Wars universe. There’s also a handful of games created specifically for the franchise to familiarize yourself with.
Here’s your guide to the most compelling gambling games in Star Wars.
Sabacc
The game of Sabacc first appeared on our screens in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Han Solo and Lando Calrissian lock horns at the card table after Han learns that his nemesis earned his ship – the vaunted YT-1300 (Millennium Falcon) – by winning a game of Sabacc against an opponent that, presumably, had to get the bus home.
Inspired, Han puts his own vessel – the VCX-100 – up for grabs in a winner-takes-all hand. Sadly, for him, Lando wins with a ‘full Sabacc’ set, and Solo walks away feeling rather cheesed off.
Convinced that Calrissian has cheated, Han and Chewie track down their rival at another card game. After observing the game, they note that Lando has been cheating by storing cards up his sleeve. Solo buys in, and when he finds himself head-to-head with the fraudster, he has an ace up his own sleeve – he has retrieved Calrissian’s secret stash himself.
Han takes ownership of the Millennium Falcon, and a key moment in Star Wars folklore is confirmed.
Sabacc is a game that has been modelled on Blackjack. Rather than needing to score 21 or as close as possible, which is the case in classic blackjack, players are hoping to net 23.
Each player is dealt two cards, with each card in the pack having either a positive or negative numerical value, although the actual specifics are unknown. Players can then call or trade cards in their attempts to make 23, with known hand names including Full Sabacc, Staves and The Idiot —three cards of the same suit and two of any other.
Little else is known or has been published about Sabacc but given its importance to the development of the Star Wars universe, it remains one of the most pivotal gambling games in the series.
Jubilee Wheel
Another traditional casino game that has been reimagined for the Star Wars universe is roulette, which has been renamed as the Jubilee Wheel.
The premise is the same as ever – players bet on the outcome of a spin of the wheel, wagering on specific numbers they think will come up. Unlike the roulette wheel, the Jubilee Wheel features 100 numbers.
The winner is the player who guesses correctly but, unlike in roulette as we know it, if the prize pot isn’t won then anyone who selects a number within five can claim the winnings.
Played most prominently in the Aspre Plunge Casino, Jubilee Wheel has made infrequent appearances throughout the Star Wars timeline.
Lugjack
Back down on Earth, you may be familiar with slot machines – the reel-spinning games where matching a combination of symbols is key to winning a cash prize.
In the good old days, you would pull on a lever and the reels would spin – these were known as ‘fruit machines’ given that many of the symbols were of the edible variety.
With the evolution of the internet, online slots have become a regular fixture of betting sites. Now, all you have to do is tap the ‘spin’ button to send the reels crashing into life. These titles feature all manner of jackpots, bonuses and special features, with some even available in full 3D.
In the rather more stripped-down Star Wars galaxy, slot machines are also part of the entertainment. Known as ‘Lugjacks’, our intergalactic chums spin the three reels with the aim of matching three of the same symbol on a payline to score the jackpot prize.
Lugjacks are most prominent at the Canto Casino resort on the planet Cantonica.
Racing
One of the most popular pastimes in Star Wars is gambling on races of one sort or another.
There are the Blob Races, where the gelatinous Umgullian blobs would tackle one another over a host of obstacles in a bid to be crowned the fastest.
There’s also great interest in betting on the Odupiendo racing, which saw this strange species of flightless birds from Naboo take to the track.
The Sun Jammer races involves a number of different vessels, powered by wind and solar energy, attempting to make it across a canyon. The Ursellin Sun Jammer race is perhaps the best known of these in the Heroes and Rogues series, with Janstren Brell charged with fixing the outcome of the race.
Perhaps the most popular form of betting on races in Star Wars are the pod races, a sort of celestial Formula One.
You may recall pod racing in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, where the plucky Anakin Skywalker wins the Boonta Eve Classic competition in his speedy craft that wins plenty of money for his backers – which included Qui-Gon Jinn – and secured his freedom from slavery on Tatooine.
These are just a few of the games of chance within the Star Wars galaxy that have been revealed over the years.