The movie brings sabacc to the forefront of its story and promotional materials, but the game has a much longer history than Solo, though. In fact, the rules for sabacc in the film are not quite the same as those established for the Expanded Universe, but the basic mechanic of subtracting and adding numbered cards is the same. Here’s a history of sabacc and how it has been played throughout the years. But the lucky number isn’t zero in the Expanded Universe. In the EU, the person who is closest to reaching either 23 or -23 without going higher than 23 would win the game (sort of like a twisted version of blackjack). Players draw from positive and negative values as well as from face cards, with fanciful names such as the the Demise and the Queen of Air and Darkness. Each suit includes four face cards: Commander, Mistress, Master, and Ace, and two sets of special cards with their own numerical values: The Queen of Air and Darkness, the Idiot, Balance, Endurance, Moderation, the Evil One, Demise, and the Star. Each deck contains 76 cards in four suits. Several house or regional variants change the game slightly, but the goal is always to reach positive or negative 23. One other win condition also exists: the Idiot’s Array, a hand including the Idiot, a two of any suit, and a three of any suit. Different casinos and bars from all over the galaxy have their own local variations of the game, such as “Corellian Spike,” played with dice and a slightly different deck. Sabacc has been played in many canon Star Wars novels, as well as in Rebels and Solo. A toy deck available from Hasbro and marketed as a “Han Solo Card Game” is also available as a tie-in product for the movie. The toy cards don’t bear the name sabacc because of some legal maneuvering by the makers of the app. Lucasfilm never filed for a trademark on the word “sabacc,” which means that mobile developer Ren Ventures was able to grab a U.S. trademark for the term and use it for their unofficial phone version. In December 2017, Lucasfilm filed a trademark lawsuit against Ren Ventures, leading to an ongoing legal battle and the generic name on the official tie-in card game. Nevertheless, Denny’s also used the game as a tie-in for Solo, offering collectible cards. Sabacc might be easily confused with the card game mini-game in Knights of the Old Republic, but that card game is pazaak, an older game with the goal of reaching 20. Pazaak was also re-canonized in the canon universe as a game played in Maz Kanata’s castle and at the Canto Casino in Canto Bight. With its elements of both chance and skill, sabacc fits Han Solo’s personality perfectly. The randomizer field means wins depend as much on luck as on skill, adding an element of surprise. Han and Lando’s friendship and rivalry are both built around their love for games of chance and the ship they played for, the Millennium Falcon. Just as the dice on the Falcon tie Han to the ideas of luck and chance, sabacc shows the nature of the underworld in which gamblers thrive. Listen to the Star Wars Blaster Canon podcast: Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Soundcloud
