Quick Guide to

CORELLIAN SPIKE

bit of history

Sabacc is a Star Wars creation of a simple card game. There are several versions of Sabacc, the 4 main ones being Traditional (or Classic), Kessel Sabacc, Coruscant Shift, and the Corellian Spike, which is what Lando and Han Solo are playing when Han wins possession of the Millennium Falcon at the end of Solo: A Star Wars Story. Corellian Spike is the version that Sabacc For Charity has come to base its tournament games after.

To win

Get a score as close as possible to 0 with the total value of cards in your hand. Getting a total score of 0 is a Sabacc, but there is a hierarchy to the different ways to get Sabacc. You can view the many different ways of getting Sabacc in our references at the bottom of this page.

game pieces & deck

There are 30 cards with positive values 1-10 and another 30 cards with negative values 1-10. The last two remaining cards are worth zero, those cards are called "Sylop". There are 3 suits, circle, rectangle, and triangle. A pair of dice is usually included with the deck but if you don't have sabacc Spike dice, you can use a regular 6-sided dice. Having a separate round counter is not required but is very helpful keeping track of rounds.

the setup

You must first choose one player to be the dealer and place a dealer token in front. This person deals out two cards to each player (including themselves). Every player, including the dealer, must "buy-in", one copper credit in the Sabacc Pot and one copper credit in the Main Pot. After players are dealt their two cards, the remaining cards will be the "Draw Pile" which will be face down and one card face-up as the "Discard Pile".

When it comes to credit values, Sabacc For Charity only uses the colors of the credits to designate the amount. So no matter the size of the credits or which type you have, whether Imperial, Republic, or Mandalorian credits, the values remain the same based on credit colors.

Gold credits = 100

Silver credits = 50

Copper credits = 10

the game

Every hand has 3 total rounds and every round has 3 phases. Starting with the player to the left of the dealer...

Phase One: Card Phase

- Player can choose to:

1) "Stand" = pass to next player

2) "Gain" from Draw pile = pick from 'draw' pile

3) "Swap" = discard a single card on hand first (facing up onto the Discard Pile first) then pick up one card from the Face Up or Draw Pile.

Phase Two: Betting Phase

- Player can choose to:

1) "Check" = pass to next player (if there's no bet)

2) "Bet" = first player to set credit amount

3) "Call" = match a previous player's bet to stay in the game

4) "Raise" = increase the bet by a higher amount previously set

5) "Fold" or "Junk" = forfeit that hand

Phase Three: Dice Phase

- Dealer rolls dice:

1) if no doubles, continue to next round. If it's the final round, all players reveal their cards or "showdown".

2) if doubles, all players must discard their current hands into the Discard Pile and receive new cards, the same amount of cards discarded.

At the end of the 3 rounds (completed the 3 phases 3 times): All players show their hands to reveal the winner. If the player wins with Sabacc, that player collects both the Main Pot and the Sabacc Pot. If the player wins without having Sabacc, that player collects the Main Pot only.

The game ends when the dealer token circulates once around to all the players. The player with the most credits is the winner.

referenceS

S4C official Spike simplified hand ranks.jpg

Download simplified rankings

Printer friendly version of hand rankings

COMPLETE Hand Hierarchy

Ranked Hands – All hands equal zero, lower integer wins a tie

1) Pure Sabacc (2 Sylops)

2) Full Sabacc (+10, +10, -10, -10, Sylop)

3) Fleet (4 of a kind, Sylop): e.g. -5, -5, +5, +5, Sylop or -2, -2, +2, +2, Sylop.

4) Yee-Haa (1 pair, Sylop ): e.g. +4, -4, Sylop or +2, +2, -4, Sylop.

5) Rhylet (3 of a kind, 1 pair): e.g. +2, +2, +2, -3, -3 or +4, +4, +4, -6, -6.

6) Squadron (4 of a kind): e.g. -6, -6, +6, +6 or -1, -1, +1, +1.

7) Gee Whiz (+1, +2, +3, +4, -10 or -1, -2, -3, -4, +10)

8) Straight Khyron (Run of 4 cards): e.g. +7, -8, -9, +10 or -2, +3, +4, -5.

9) Banthas Wild (3 of a kind): e.g. +4, +4, +4, -3, -9 or +5, +5, -5, -3, -2.

10) Rule of Two (2 pairs): e.g. -9, +9, -4, +4 or +3, +3, +5, -5, -6.

11) Sabacc (1 pair): e.g. +5,-5 or +3, +3, -6.

Note: 3, 4, and 5 random card sabacc hands are not ranked hands, therefore, a pair will beat random sabacc hands.

Non-specialty hands that also equal zero

Most Cards: The hand with the highest number of cards wins.

Highest Positive Sum: Add all positive numbers in each hand, the hand with the highest sum wins.

Highest Single Positive Value: The hand with the single highest positive card.

True Tie

(opt 1 - Official Galaxy's Edge Rules) Single Blind Draw: If all of the above scenarios also end in a tie each remaining play draws 1 card. The player closest to zero wins the hand. Positive numbers always beat negative numbers. If players still tie, keep doing the blind draw until a winner is decided.

(opt 2 - S4C House Rule) Card Suit Ranking: If you want to avoid the luck of the draw, you can alternatively look at the card suit of the single highest positive card. Circle > Triangle > Square

Pro Tip: if using Galaxy's Edge card deck: Face cards 9 and 10 can be a little tricky, but can easily be distinguished by the extended lines on the design.

Fun Fact: #7 = Star, #8 = Shield, #9 = Queen, #10 = Mandalorian