Lightsider, a Jedi game from ancient times, was known for its inherent risks. During a confrontation above Nespis VIII in the Space City, the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker triumphed over the Dark Jedi Kam Solusar in this very game, leading Solusar to embrace the light side of the Force.
Originally, Tom Veitch planned for Lightsider to be the core element of his story titled Lightsider. However, this story was never published because of disagreements over creative direction. Despite this, the narrative's key events were preserved through a brief mention in Dark Apprentice, a novel penned by Kevin J. Anderson. Subsequent materials, such as The Essential Chronology, The New Essential Guide to Characters, and The New Essential Chronology, also referenced these occurrences. The Dark Empire II audio drama portrays a lightsaber duel between Skywalker and Solusar at the Space City, where Skywalker emerges victorious and converts Solusar to the light side. It is uncertain if this duel was actually a game of Lightsider, or an entirely separate event.
The game was designed to be played on a board featuring 50 pieces in blue and red, symbolizing the Light and Dark Sides, respectively. These pieces would be situated on colored concave crystals. Green crystals would represent systems such as Alderaan and Ottethan. The central cluster, colored black and white, would signify the galaxy's core and serve as one of the game's ultimate objectives. Other colors had no specific meaning. The colored spaces were to be conquered from the "outer edge" toward the center. By strategically positioning a piece, a player could complete a Force "circuit" by touching one of the lightsaber-crystal-like pieces, thereby compelling the opponent into a hallucination or a spiritual plane within the Force. This plane would contain a "quest," essentially a location and scenario conceived by the first player. Within this realm, both players could alter the environment using their will. Events could range from the absurd, such as transforming Rancors into Tauntauns merely by stating it, to the realistic, such as witnessing a large battle play out between two fleets of ships. Placing a crystal piece could also lead to a simple lightsaber duel between the two players. Throughout each "quest," Luke and Kam Solusar sought to influence each other towards their respective sides of the Force. After Luke wins one of these, he places his piece on top of Kam's, but it is not clear whether this was actually meant to be part of the official gameplay. Unless one player chooses to concede, the game continues until all pieces have been placed on the board. Kam asserted that in ancient times, a single game of Lightsider could extend for weeks.