A mind trick involved utilizing the Force to subtly shift a target's perceptions or embed a suggestion within their consciousness. This technique was generally more effective on individuals with weaker minds. Certain species, including Hutts, Toydarians, Falleen, Geonosians, and Dashade, displayed a notable resistance to mind tricks.

Mind tricks manifested in several ways, such as convincing someone to act against their preferences, instilling fear, or generating auditory or visual hallucinations, including illusions.

Force persuasion involved using the Force to exert influence over others. Species with strong mental discipline often resisted this technique, requiring greater skill to affect. These included Hutts, Toydarians, Yinchorri, Kloodavians, Dashade, Falleen, Geonosians, and potentially Snivvians. For instance, Revan successfully persuaded Motta the Hutt, whereas Luke Skywalker failed to influence Jabba the Hutt. During the Jedi Civil War, soldiers received training to resist this technique. Conversely, species like the Nikto were particularly vulnerable. Variants included affect mind and dominate mind, with dominate mind representing a more advanced version.

When a Jedi employed a mind trick, they often gestured with their hand to enhance the effect. They typically adopted a specific vocal tone and a relaxed facial expression. The target of the mind trick tended to mirror this relaxed tone but displayed a peculiar facial expression. If the trick succeeded, the target would agree with the suggestion without independent thought. Subsequently, they might experience confusion regarding their altered opinion but generally would not revert to their original viewpoint.

Skilled Force users could exert Force persuasion across considerable distances, even between starships.

The use of mind tricks raised ethical concerns for the Jedi, as it infringed upon an individual's free will and conscience. Consequently, they were strictly forbidden from using it for personal gain (such as in betting or bargaining), reserving its use for when it would serve the greater good (greater good could also be sometimes a reason to overlook this restriction); however, the Sith and other Dark Jedi freely employed this ability.

When training Jedi students, Yarael Poof emphasized the importance of mindfulness when using this power, reminding them that their target was a living being with their own life, and that caution was necessary as their command could potentially ruin their target's life. Mind tricks could also be used to convert individuals to fight for another.

This ability required the user's complete focus. Doubts about its effectiveness or distractions caused by insights into the subject's mind could lead to failure.

Force confusion, a more advanced mind trick, could be used in combat to temporarily manipulate enemies into fighting as allies. It proved particularly valuable when facing numerical disadvantages and was quicker to apply than affect mind during battle.

Force fear, a dark-side Force power, possibly a dark-side variant of the Jedi mind trick, was employed around 4000 BBY by Sith and Jedi with dark-side tendencies. The user directly targeted the deepest parts of the target's mind, inducing uncontrollable fear that disrupted their abilities. Through sheer willpower, the user could completely undermine their courage, leading to demoralization, hopelessness, and regret if left undefended. Depending on the victim, it would caused them to either cower defenselessly or flee from their opponent outright.

Force Fear was considered a dark-side power due to fear's association with the dark side. However, the intent behind its use was crucial, and Jedi sometimes used it to de-escalate dangerous situations.

Force fear had two advanced variants: Force horror and Force insanity. Force horror enabled the Force user to induce a catatonic state of panic in multiple enemies, more severe and harder to resist than basic Force fear. Similarly, Force insanity affected multiple enemies simultaneously, over an even greater range. As the most advanced form of Force fear, its effect was much more devastating, with the victims possibly descending into an utter state of frenzied madness and deranged mania as their situation seemed to suddenly become hopeless.

Also known as dominate mind or control mind, mind control represented the dark-side equivalent of the Jedi mind trick, but was far more intrusive. It granted complete control over the mind(s) of the affected victim(s). Greater mastery allowed control over more individuals, although its effectiveness against species with innate resistance (such as Hutts or Toydarians) remains uncertain.

One particularly sinister variation was Force Corruption, which forced targets to serve the user while slowly draining their life force.

Force corrupt, or Force corruption, was a dark-side ability used to temporarily manipulate the minds of sentient beings, compelling them to serve one's cause. During the Galactic Civil War, Force users within the Galactic Empire, possibly including Mara Jade and Palpatine, employed it to control enemy soldiers, turning them against their allies.

Force corrupt was possibly a dark-side variant of the Jedi mind trick, employing similar principles but for violent purposes rather than deception.

This technique was a variation of the mind trick developed by Daegen Lok where he intruded into another's consciousness and twisted their perception of reality to suit his own ends. Lok's skill with the ability was such that he was able to convince Xesh that he was suffocating, and he convinced Bel Zana's mind that she was on fire to the point where her body exhibited burn marks.

Force illusion, a potent Force ability, represented a subset of mind trick powers. The user projected an image into the minds of beings within range, ranging from pillars of fire to hordes of monsters or fleets of warships, depending on the range. The user could also "see" the illusion, albeit partially, like a semi-transparent hologram.

Unlike a hologram, a Force illusion was mentally controlled and limited only by the user's imagination. Crucially, it affected all senses, not just sight, projecting into the brain and influencing hearing, smell, and even senses like echolocation. Electronic systems like cybernetic eyes or cameras were ineffective against it; the creature would "see" the illusion as if it were real, although playback after the illusion ended would reveal nothing.

However, Force illusion had limitations. It was ineffective against inorganic minds, such as droids and AI, and had a reduced effect on Force users or Force-resistant species like Hutts and Yuuzhan Vong. It was also difficult to master. While Force illusions could create something from nothing, they couldn't make nothing out of something (in other words, render someone invisible; for that aspect, Force immersion would be used), though they could conceal anything within the illusion. Furthermore, illusions lacked physical substance. While they could be "felt," objects typically passed through them, revealing their nature. Sustained use could be taxing, especially at extreme ranges (thousands of kilometers, affecting capital-ship combat).

Lumiya used Force illusion on mirrors to enhance the appearance of reflected people. The Fallanassi, due to their abilities to manipulate the White Current, were capable of creating powerful illusions. However, unlike most Force-sensitives, illusions created through the White Current could be created to be as insubstantial or as real as the user wanted, with the most convincing illusions being indistinguishable visually from a real object. Conversely, Fallanassi illusions could be intentionally insubstantial, so as to trick a sentient into thinking that something that was real wasn't real.

Yarael Poof, a Quermian Jedi Master described as a "consummate illusionist," was adept at Force illusions, using them on various occasions. He would identify an opponent's fears and project images of them to entire armies, quickly ending battles that would otherwise have been bloody. This was similar to Force fear, albeit using a different method.

A known variant of Force illusion was masquerade. Masquerade enabled the user to project an image into a person's mind over the user, essentially masking the user's appearance.

The dark-side technique for creating illusions, or mindforms, involved conjuring visible, lifelike astral projections of whatever the conjurer desired through the use of Sith magic. The illusions distorted all of an individual's sensory perceptions, and only through concentration on the Force was an individual able to perceive them as being false.

By simply gesturing with one's hands, a magician could create whatever manifestations she desired. As an application of the dark side, sorcerers tended to create hideous forms of serpents and other creatures to torment victims. Playing on all the victim's senses, the illusion could seemingly attack individuals, should they actually believe the apparition to be real. However, the illusion could be undone should the victim cease to believe it exists. The illusions could also be undone if the conjuring sorcerer is interrupted by a powerful light side attack.

The ancient Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow was a master of illusion casting. His possessed considerable natural ability, but to augment the strength of his illusions Sadow would often employ the use of Sith talismans or technology. During the Great Hyperspace War, he would sit in his meditation sphere and project magnificent illusions of war beasts on the battlefields of Koros Major, Coruscant and Kirrek. His concentration was broken, however, when one of his own capital ships fired upon his meditation sphere, causing his magical illusions to fade, eventually leading to Sith defeats on all three planets.

When the spacer Gav Daragon was being initiated as a Sith apprentice by Sadow, he received from Sadow rudimentary instruction in creating illusions. Daragon's strength was minimal, for every illusion he conjured turned from something pleasing into a hideous spectral form.

Sith sorceress Aleema Keto was rather proficient with this ability. By simply gesturing with her hands, Aleema could create whatever manifestations she desired. Among her more popular creations were hideous forms of serpents and other creatures she used to torture victims, like the Adegan eel she replaced her former tutor Korus' tongue with. During the Battle of Koros Major, Aleema envisioned space grazers and massive warships against the Galactic Republic fleet. She could also form more obscure illusions, like turning swords into living animals, technology into monsters, or phantoms of severed heads.

The Nightsisters of Dathomir had a perception of the Force very different than that of the Jedi and the Sith, an integral part of which was the casting of illusions through "illusion spells."

Around 137 ABY, Darth Wyyrlok used this spell against Demtri and Gerlun, members of the Malevolence, in Andeddu's Keep on the planet Prakith, making Gerlun kill Demtri. Lord Andeddu and Wyyrlok then battled each other with illusions potent enough to inflict real injury on their targets, a contest that Andeddu ultimately lost.

Force projection, a mysterious Force ability, was possibly a variation of Force illusion. Darth Ramage, a Sith scientist, extensively researched this technique, recording his findings on his holocron, SD41263.I. It allowed the user to create and "program" an apparition similar to themselves to distract, confuse or lure enemies. The illusion could be animate or inanimate, was fully capable of intercepting incoming fire and was visible to all around it, not just a selected target. A similar ability that was primarily associated to the dark side was Force phantom, which required Sith rituals to tether the illusion created by the castor to a living creature, which would die if the illusion were destroyed.

Approximately four millennia before the Battle of Yavin, Padawan Zayne Carrick attempted a mind trick on Marn Hierogryph on Taris, but Marn claimed resistance to such techniques. In 3956 BBY, Revan may have frequently used this ability during his quest for the Star Forge, despite Bastila Shan's warnings against using it for personal gain. Some years later, Meetra Surik, known as The Exile, and Kreia employed mind tricks to erase their presence from people's memories. The Exile also used the technique much in the way that Revan had previously. Over three centuries later, Gnost-Dural used a mind trick on a Nikto guard at the Crooked Finger bar to avoid paying the cover charge. Theron Shan commented that his life would be easier with that ability, and Gnost-Dural noted its limited effectiveness and the Nikto's susceptibility.

Darth Maul employed this power before the Trade Federation attack on Theed. Other practitioners included Tenebrae, Kreia, Joruus C'baoth, Luke Skywalker, and Luuke Skywalker. Skilled users could manipulate thoughts, actions, memories, emotions, and senses.

Twelve years before the Clone Wars, Qui-Gon Jinn attempted to persuade Jemba the Hutt to return a dactyl to Arcona workers on the freighter Monument. However, he was weakened from a recent fight with a Togorian pirate and failed. Later, on Bandomeer, Jinn used a mind trick on a Hutt guard to access the private office of his former Padawan, Xanatos. In 33 BBY, Darth Maul used a mind trick on a Dorvalla cantina bartender to be served and left alone. A year later, on Naboo, Qui-Gon Jinn convinced Boss Nass, leader of the Gungans, to allow Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi to leave in a bongo with Jar Jar Binks. Shortly after, on Tatooine, Jinn tried to convince Watto, a Toydarian junk dealer, to accept Republic credits for parts for Queen Amidala's starship. Watto questioned Jinn's Jedi status, claiming mind tricks didn't work on Toydarians. During this same time, Qui-Gon used the mind trick to convince a pushy Sebulba to wait outside while he talked with Watto after the Boonta Eve Race and later to make a cruel slave owner give his slaves water and to never harm them again.

The Quermian Jedi Master Yarael Poof was a renowned mind trick user before his death in 27 BBY.

On Coruscant a decade following the events of 22 BBY, Obi-Wan Kenobi turned down Elan Sel'Sabagno, a slythmonger, when offered the potent narcotic cilona-extract, known as "death sticks." Using a subtle wave of his hand, Kenobi influenced the slythmonger to reconsider his life choices, suggesting he "go home and rethink his life" rather than peddle death sticks. Some days later, while concealed on Naboo, Padmé Amidala inquired of Anakin Skywalker whether he intended to use the mind trick on her. Anakin responded that the technique was only effective on those with weak minds, implying Padmé possessed a mental fortitude that rendered her immune to such manipulation - a fact Anakin was well aware of.

Early during the Clone Wars, Jedi Master Yoda employed the mind trick on Captain Typho, the individual responsible for Padmé Amidala's security, subtly guiding him to suggest a detour to Ilum to rescue Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee, describing it as a "slight deviation" from their planned path. Despite Padmé's clear recognition of the manipulation, she willingly instructed Typho to alter course for Ilum. In 21 BBY, Asajj Ventress attempted to use a mind trick on Captain Rex, compelling him to contact Anakin Skywalker. However, Rex resisted the influence, instead discreetly alerting Skywalker to the impending danger. Later that same year, while held captive by the pirate Hondo Ohnaka, Obi-Wan Kenobi used a mind trick on a Weequay pirate, convincing him to abandon his guard duty in favor of deactivating the cell bars and indulging in alcoholic beverages. The Duros bounty hunter Cad Bane was ultimately compelled to reveal the location of the kyber memory crystal and two Force-sensitive children. Despite initial resistance, the combined mental prowess of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Mace Windu overwhelmed Bane's defenses, forcing him to reluctantly disclose the whereabouts of his targets. Also in 21 BBY, Ahsoka Tano twice utilized the Jedi mind trick on a Neimoidian guard stationed on a Trade Federation Battleship, facilitating her and Senator Riyo Chuchi's entry into the detention block to liberate Chi Eekway Papanoida. During a hunt on the moon of Wasskah, Jedi Initiate Jinx attempted to use a mind trick on Trandoshan hunter Smug to summon a speeder, but it initially failed. Following Chewbacca's intervention, striking the Trandoshan on the head, Smug became vulnerable to Jedi mind tricks, ultimately summoning a speeder that was subsequently commandeered by O-Mer.

Near the end of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi again employed the mind trick to avoid complications on the sinkhole world of Utapau. To secure transportation for tracking down General Grievous, Kenobi used the Force to influence a local Utai dragonmount handler to assist him. The Utai permitted Kenobi to ride Boga, a loyal varactyl mount, to the tenth level of Pau City, where he located and eventually defeated Grievous. Following the implementation of Order 66, upon Kenobi's return to Coruscant alongside Senator Bail Organa and Master Yoda, they were met by a guard. The guard announced his intention to take the Jedi into custody, but Kenobi used a mind trick to convince the guard that it would be more prudent for the Jedi to remain with the Senator.

In 3 BBY, Starkiller repeatedly used the mind trick throughout his missions for Darth Vader. He utilized it to interrogate a bartender on Nar Shaddaa regarding the location of Rahm Kota, coerced an Imperial officer on Felucia into revealing Senator Bail Organa's whereabouts, and attempted to persuade Lobot to secure an audience with Senator Garm Bel Iblis. However, Lobot's cybernetically enhanced brain rendered him immune to the effects of the mind trick.

Two years subsequently, following the commencement of the Galactic Civil War, Galen Marek's clone frequently employed mind tricks to incite Imperials to betray their allies or commit suicide. Emperor Palpatine corrupted the wills of Imperial units such as Strike force Alpha with the dark side, ensuring that any Jedi attempting to convert a unit would trigger their self-destruction.

In 0 BBY Kenobi again used the Jedi mind trick, this time to persuade a stormtrooper that he and Luke Skywalker were not in possession of the droids the Empire sought, and that it would be best to let them proceed. Pilot BoShek tapped into latent Force abilities, amplified by the residual effects of Kenobi's trick, to perform a mind trick that allowed him to evade four stormtroopers after "borrowing" a landspeeder. Weeks later, Luke Skywalker employed a mind trick to force Bib Fortuna and a group of guards to release them after a bounty hunter had taken Grubba from them.

In 4 ABY, Luke Skywalker infiltrated Jabba's Palace to rescue Han Solo. He used the mind trick to convince Bib Fortuna to grant him an audience with Jabba the Hutt. Jabba later chided Fortuna for succumbing to such an "old mind trick," and after Skywalker attempted to use it on the Hutt himself, Jabba declared that his mind powers would be ineffective against him.

Following the demise of Emperor Palpatine, Corran Horn inadvertently used the mind trick to conceal himself from stormtroopers during his escape from the Lusankya in 6 ABY. The subsequent year, Horn attempted to intentionally use a mind trick on a stormtrooper while on an undercover mission on Thyferra. For a moment, when the stormtrooper repeated Horn's statement about not having to go with him, Horn believed the trick was working. It failed miserably, and the only reaction he prompted from the stormtrooper was "You can go about your business? Your business is my business, void brain!" Horn was injured by the stormtrooper and ended up having to spend a couple of days in a bacta tank to recover. After having initiated studies to become a Jedi, Horn successfully projected an illusion of a massive New Republic task force, complete with the Lusankya and the Sun Crusher, into the mind of Leonia Tavira, the leader of the Invids.

Luke Skywalker harnessed this ability to protect himself and his companions from the animal inhabitants of lower Coruscant during the Corellian crisis. Faced with a large pack, he chose to instill fear in their minds, as it was the most readily accessible emotion. His actions were driven by the need to safeguard the lives of everyone present.

The Force-sensitive Yuuzhan Vong Onimi seemingly exerted mind control over Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane during their dominance over the species. However, towards the conclusion of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Onimi lost his grip on Shimrra. He later attributed this, as he told Jaina Solo, to the fact that his "preoccupation with defeating you [Jaina] allowed what remained of Shimrra to reemerge"; this suggests that his distraction in his greater battle with Yun'o caused this loss of control over Shimrra.

In 40 ABY, during the Second Galactic Civil War, Leia Organa Solo used a mind trick on a lieutenant from the Galactic Alliance Second Fleet vessel Spinnerfish. She first manipulated him into believing that Lando Calrissian (who was using the identity Bescat Offdurmin at the time) was not aiding the enemy, then that they needed to reach Corellia due to a vital mission for the Alliance, and finally to provide them with the access codes provided by Intelligence that would allow them to fly in directly. Afterward, Lando remarked "That wasn't really fair" and Leia responded that the lieutenant was "even more weak-minded" than she was used to and she didn't think he'd progress far in the army. Ben Skywalker used a mind trick on Gilthor Breen to persuade him that he had entered a turbolift. He projected an image of the turbolift doors closing and directed him to think about "the girl," a holodrama actress named Aliniaca Verr. Notably, Ben accomplished this trick without the use of either a hand gesture or his voice. Mara Jade used a mind trick on two bystanders after fighting with Lumiya. She tricked the two bystanders into believing that the battle that they just witnessed between Mara and Lumiya was staged for a hol- program. The male bystander remarked that the blood on Mara's face looked real, tricked by Mara into believing that it was fake. In 41 ABY, during the Second Battle of Fondor, Darth Caedus used the Force to mind trick the Fondorians into lowering the planetary shield based around the city of Oridin, opening the city to bombardment by his forces.

In 137 ABY, Princess Marasiah Fel attempted to use a mind trick on Cade Skywalker in order to get aboard the Mynock with Astraal Vao and away from Darth Talon. Cade was not affected, but took them anyway after spotting the Sith. Cade later said to his companions, "Human thinks I'm some weak willed Koochu—tried a Jedi 'mind trick.'"

Various games depict the Jedi mind trick as a method for bypassing opponents undetected. In one instance, it was termed "Force persuasion," yet it achieved the same outcome, likely a designation exclusive to this particular application. The mind trick is employed within the game, rendering the character invisible to the opponent(s). Certain games enable players to utilize the mind trick to disorient and stun their adversaries; others employ it to induce opponents to temporarily switch allegiances by attacking other opponents.

The mind trick is referred to as both affect mind and the more potent dominate mind in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, the application of mind-altering Force abilities aligns more closely with the films. Acquiring these abilities grants the player additional dialogue options, enabling them to persuade NPCs to act in a manner beneficial to the player—for example, to provide a larger reward than typically offered, to offer a reduced price for an item, to divulge confidential information, to extract information from the individual, or to manipulate them into performing or accepting various actions.

In the comic adaptation of Dark Lords of the Sith, Aleema's cousin, Satal Keto, never demonstrates skill in illusion casting. However, in the Dark Lords of the Sith audio rendition, Satal conjures illusions and uses them to confuse his father and aunt, Lord Keto and Lady Magda Keto.

In Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, if the player character's mind trick level exceeds 3 (unattainable without cheats), they can directly control an enemy, including Reborn, who are typically immune to the ability. At level 4, this power could affect anyone, even on the strongest minds like Desann or Tavion Axmis.

Force confusion is an available power in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. It becomes accessible if the Jedi Exile achieves a prestige class. Game files from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic suggest Jolee Bindo was intended to possess the psychic static ability. Whether its exclusion was intentional or due to time constraints remains unknown.

Force confusion is also featured in the Star Wars Episode III video game.

In I, Jedi, Luke Skywalker refers to both his and Obi-Wan Kenobi's use of mind control as Alter Mind.