Chance, risk and fate are common themes in Star Wars – and there are ways that writers can explore those themes so compactly as in gambling. Little wonder then that games of chance have been common plot devices and recurring themes in the Star Wars galaxy for decades now.
Across the far away galaxy, games of chance are played throughout social classes, across planets and different cultures. Some games are common, where others are unique to certain planets and species – but the stories often agree that huge fortunes have been won and lost playing them. These are the games of chance you’ll find in the Star Wars universe, and some real life comparisons you might find interesting.
Sabacc is the Most Famous Gambling Game in the Galaxy
The game of Sabacc was first mentioned in a draft screenplay of The Empire Strikes Back, although it never made it into the movie. It later appeared in novels and TV series, before becoming a prominent plot point in the 2018 movie Solo: A Star Wars Story. It was also a playable mini game in Star Wars: Outlaws, pictured above.
Fans will most likely know Sabacc the game that Han Solo beat Lando Calrissian at to win The Millennium Falcon spaceship. It is played across the Star Wars galaxy, from organized games in fancy casinos to informal setups in cantinas and barracks.
The game is a combination poker and blackjack, with card values that can change mid hand. There have been several attempts to release a version in real life, although all have had slightly different rule sets. Some known variants include Corellian Spike and Bespin Standard.
Canto Bight is the Las Vegas of the Star Wars Universe
Canto Bight on the planet Cantonica was a city built to be the biggest entertainment destination in the galaxy. It first appeared in Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, and has since appeared in various extended Star Wars universe media including novels and games.
The casino city featured in its own novella anthology, Canto Bight, which covered four different stories set in or around its gambling dens and racing pits.
As a Galactic gambling hub in the Outer Rim, the city’s casinos and fathier racing tracks apparently take in billions of credits in bets every night. As well as betting on the horse-like fathiers ridden by children, people play Sabbac tournaments and various games with changeable and sometimes holographic dice called Chance Cubes.
Outside of the fiction, Canto Bight’s aesthetics were apparently inspired by a Star Wars take on Dubrovnik in Croatia.
How Modern Casinos Embrace Star Wars’ Futuristic Gaming Formats
While Sabbac takes influences from traditional casino card games, Chance Cubes are the most similar game in the Star Wars galaxy to modern online gambling games.
New live casino game shows often start with the familiar – a mechanical device like a spinning wheel of fortune, a roulette wheel or simple dice. Then they add multiple layers of virtual reality bonus rounds and extra prizes to boost the complexity of the initial well known format.
Chance Cubes are a great example of this idea in action. But also, a real-life game like Crazy Time from developer Evolution. This game is simple to pick up, due to its traditional spinning wheel base and betting structure. But its various bonus rounds and multiplier possibilities add layers of depth and complexity.
For this reason, players often look to third-party reviewers for the lowdown on a game like Crazy Time. Experts break down exactly what each bets’ odds are, explain all the bonus rounds and take a look at possible betting strategies – as well as pointing players towards reputable casinos they can play it at.
Similarly, the gambling games of the Star Wars galaxy are never simple. They might start with the basics like cards or dice. But extra randomness, volatility and bigger win potential are always added on from there.
Chance Cubes, Podracing and Gambling as Narrative
Interestingly, gambling has, on occasion, been an integral plot device in Star Wars media. While many fictional universes use games and gambling as pure worldbuilding and flavor – in Star Wars they have a real function to characters’ arcs and plotlines.
The game of Sabacc was responsible for one of the most famous ships in the galaxy – the Millennium Falcon – changing hands. In some recent videogames, Sabbac has played key plot elements in the main character’s story.
The excesses of Canto Bight and its Las Vegas-style casinos are used to illustrate the economic inequalities of the Galactic Empire, which ultimately informs some key characters’ decisions to join the Rebel Alliance.
Meanwhile, informal gambling is a common background occurrence at cantinas and smuggling dens throughout Star Wars media. Showing that the frontier and outlaw spirit of games like Earth’s Texas Hold ‘Em were also present in a far away galaxy.
Even in tales of epic, galaxy-defining battles and awesome, world-shaping forces – few things illustrate the interplay between skill, luck and possibly even fate, better than gambling. Games where fortunes can be made and lost on the flip of a coin, the turn of a card or the roll of a Chance Cube.