A well-known card game, Sabacc boasted a multitude of variations. A particularly strong hand was also termed sabacc. Frequently played for significant sums, many versions aimed to secure the sabacc pot by assembling a hand whose absolute value was as close to 23 as possible, without exceeding it. A standard sabacc deck contained 76 cards: 60 spread across four suits, plus 16 special cards, each possessing a unique value. However, certain variations employed different decks. Furthermore, in numerous versions, a card's value and suit could change unpredictably during gameplay, unless the card was secured within the interference field. Due to the similarity in names, some individuals might confuse sabacc with the card game pazaak.
Seventy-six cards comprised a sabacc deck. Sixty cards were divided into four suits: Flasks, Sabers, Staves, and Coins. Each suit contained 15 cards: pip cards numbered 1 to 11, a Commander (12), a Mistress (13), a Master (14), and an Ace (15). The remaining 16 cards consisted of two sets of 8 special cards: Balance (−11), The Idiot (0), Endurance (−8), Moderation (−14), The Evil One (−15), The Queen of Air and Darkness (−2), Demise (−13), and The Star (−17 or −10).
Sabacc blended skill and luck, accommodating between two and eight players. Participants could either designate a dealer or rotate the role clockwise after each hand. The objective was to achieve a final hand totaling as close as possible to 23 or −23, without exceeding either value. A hand totaling 24 or more was considered a "bomb out," resulting in a loss for that round. Sabacc involved two pots: the hand pot, claimed by the round's winner, and the sabacc pot, which accumulated throughout the game and was awarded to the overall match winner.
The dealer initiated the game by shuffling the deck and distributing one card face down to each player, including themselves, in a circular pattern. This process was repeated until each player held two cards. In many high-stakes games, the cards are actually small screens that can change the card at a signal from the Randomizer, causing a Sabacc Shift. The Sabacc Shift is described later. Starting with the player to the dealer's left, each player announced their initial hand totals.
Beginning to the dealer's left, each player had the option to draw cards from the deck, exchange a card from their hand for one from the deck, or stand. They could choose to place a single card in the game table's interference field to prevent said card from being Shifted if a Sabacc Shift occurred. Should a Sabacc Shift occur, all cards not secured in the interference field would randomly change in suit and value. This new hand constituted the player's final hand for the round.
This procedure was replicated by each player, concluding with the dealer. Subsequently, each player declared their final hand total. The player with the highest hand totaling 23 or less won the round. A hand of 24 or higher was said to "bomb out" and lost. A perfect hand of 23 or −23 was a Pure Sabacc, and it could only be beaten by a rare and unbeatable hand called an Idiot's Array, consisting of The Idiot, a 2 card of any suit, and a 3 card of any suit.
Ties were resolved using a random number generator, with the player who rolled the higher number declared the winner. Using a skifter represented a form of cheating.
Over eighty different variations of sabacc existed. One such variation was "Corellian Spike," which used a pair of six-sided dice and was played with a smaller deck. Jhabacc represented another high-stakes variant, notably played at the Outlander Club within the Uscru Entertainment District of Coruscant. Other variants included Centran sabacc, Empress Teta Preferred style, Coruscant Shift, Riftwalker sabacc. and Kessel Sabacc.
Sabacc enjoyed widespread popularity as a card game across the galaxy, often involving substantial wagers. The unpredictable nature of Shifts made sabacc a complex game, where a promising hand could quickly become a losing one if not played strategically, with the odds typically favoring the house. Notably, Han Solo famously won the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian during a game of "Corellian Spike" sabacc on Numidian Prime. In 4 BBY, Garazeb Orrelios of the Spectres wagered and lost the astromech droid Chopper to the smuggler Lando Calrissian, who held an Idiot's Array.
Following the Siege of Inyusu Tor, Commander Tohna of the 61st Mobile Infantry engaged in a sabacc game with three fellow soldiers: Gadren, Brand, and Twitch. Tohna extended an invitation to Captain Hazram Namir, who declined due to his unfamiliarity with the game.
Sabacc made its debut in the Legends novel Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, subsequently appearing in numerous Legends narratives. It achieved canon status with its inclusion in the 2014 novel A New Dawn. The name's origins likely stem from the second draft of The Empire Strikes Back's script, where Han Solo mentions Lando Calrissian winning Cloud City in a "sabacca game."
For a considerable period, Lucasfilm refrained from trademarking "sabacc," leading to Ren Ventures, and its subsidiary, Sabacc Creative Industries, utilizing the name for a 2015 mobile app game that mirrored the Star Wars card game's rules. Ren Ventures secured the U.S. trademark for "sabacc" in 2016. In the same year, Lucasfilm issued a cease-and-desist letter. With the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story in May 25, 2018, which featured the card game, Lucasfilm sought to reclaim the trademark. They initially challenged the registration in May 2017, followed by a federal trademark lawsuit in December 2017. In April 2018, Ren Ventures responded with a lawsuit targeting marketing materials using the name, particularly Denny's restaurant chain's promotional offer of collectible trading cards. In June, a California federal judge ruled in favor of Lucasfilm, but deferred the decision on willful infringement to a jury. The case reached a full settlement a month later, but only after Ren Ventures attempted to involve George Lucas. Ultimately, Lucasfilm successfully trademarked "sabacc" in August 2018.