Quick Guide to S4C
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 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 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 choose one player to be the dealer. 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. The deck 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...
​
Phase One: Card Phase
- Player can choose to:
1) "Stand" with the current hand; pass to next player
2) "Gain" a card (from either draw or discard pile)
3) "Swap" a card on hand with a card from the Discard Pile (facing up)
​
Phase Two: Betting Phase
- Player can choose to:
1) "Bet" credits / items into the Main Pot OR not bet and pass to next player
2) "Call" and match a previous player's bet to stay in the game
3) "Raise" the bet by a higher amount previously set
4) "Fold" and forfeit that hand
​
Phase Three: Dice Phase
- Dealer rolls dice:
1) if no doubles, continue to next round. If it's last round, all players reveal their cards
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 has Sabacc and wins, 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
If multiple player’s hand total sum is zero, or SABACC, see Winning Hands reference. If players’ hand total sum is not zero, or NULRHEK, closest to zero wins, positive value beats negative (positive 1 beats a negative 1). If there’s a tie, see ranking below...
​
Rankings if tied:
Players with at least one positive card
1. Player with a positive sum closest to zero
2. Player with the most cards
3. Player with single positive card closest to zero
4. Card suit of the single lowest positive card
​
If all players only have negative cards
1. Player with closest negative sum to zero
2. Player with the most cards
3. Player with single card closest to zero
4. Card suit of the single card closest to zero
​
Card suit ranking: Circle > Triangle > Square
​
​
Pro Tip if using original Solo card deck: Face cards 9 and 10 can be a little tricky, but can easily be distinguished by the extended lines on the design.
