Sabacc ----------------- This is the game that is played throughout the Star Wars Galaxy. It's the game that Han Solo played to win the Falcon from Lando. The Cards ----------------- Sabacc is played with a deck of 76 cards made up of four suits--Sabres, Staves, Flasks, and Coins--and a set of face cards. Each suit is made up 11 regular cards (numbered 1-11) and four ranked cards: the Commander, the Mistress, the Master, and the Ace (numbered 12-15). The set of face cards consists of 16 cards, each with a *negative* value. (Note that it is possible to have a hand with a net negative value.) In addition, each face card has a special name and symbol. There are two instances of each face card in the deck. Using Tarot Cards ----------------- If you are using Tarot cards to play sabacc, you'll need to use *two* decks and remove some of the cards. Two things that are a little tricky to remember are that the "special" face cards are *negative* in value, and that the "royal" cards in a suit are numbered 11-15. The following table summarizes the conversion, if you are using the common Knight-Ridder tarot deck: Sabacc Tarot Sabres Swords Staves Wands Flasks Cups Coins Pentacles 1-10 I-X 11 Page [This is the most confusing conversion.] Commander (12) Knight Mistress (13) Queen Master (14) King Ace (15) Ace Idiot (0) Fool (0) Queen of Air and Darkness (-2) The High Priestess (II) Endurance (-8) Strength (VIII) Balance (-11) Justice (XI) Demise (-13) Death (XIII) Moderation (-14) Temperance (XIV) The Evil One (-15) The Devil (XV) The Star (-17) The Star (XVII) In the Star Wars galaxy, electronic pulses randomly shift the faces of the cards until they're locked in place when the player holds them in a "neutral field." The following rules include several mechanics which simulate the effect of the random pulses. Rules of Play ----------------- The object of sabacc is to have the highest card total which is less than or equal to 23. A total which is over 23, under negative 23, or exactly 0 is called a "bomb out," and requires the holder of the hand to pay a penalty, as described below. There are two pots to be won in the game of sabacc. A pot is the total amount of credits staked by all of the players in one hand of the card game (just like poker). Each pot should be kept clearly separate from the other. The first of the two pots is called the "hand pot" and is taken by the winner of the current hand. The second is the "sabacc pot" and continually builds over several hands until it is won with a special hand, as described below. To start a game of sabacc, choose one player to be the dealer of the first hand. Other players wishing to be dealt into a hand must first ante by placing one credit into the *hand* pot. Each player must also anter one credit into the sabacc pot it is empty, including the first hand of the game. Each player takes a turn in order, beginning with the player to the dealer's left, that includes the phases listed below. Once a player has completed all the phases, his or her turn is over and play proceeds to the left. After each hand, the "dealership" roates to the left. Phases of a Hand ----------------- Betting Phase ------------- Each player is dealt two cards. The player to the left of the dealer begins play with the option to bet. If he/she chooses to do so, that bet is placed in the hand pot. If a bet is placed, each player must match that bet if he or she wishes to remain in the hand. Only the player whose turn it is may place a bet, but that bet may be raised by any of the players in turn. The betting and raising limits are three credits. Before moving on to the next phase, the player whose turn it is must ask each player if they wish to fold. A player may only fold during the the betting phase, and must pay one credit to the sabacc pot to do so. Shifting Phase -------------- After the betting phase is completed, the player whose turn it is rolls a six-sided die. If the result is 1, 2, or 3, *shifting* occurs. [Ed. note: i.e., odds are 50-50 that your card will shift during any given turn.] During a shift, each player must discard one card from his or hand, chosen randomly by the player to the right. All of the players' discarded cards are then gathered by the dealer, reshuffled, and then dealt to the players in order. Note that if a player folds on his or her *own* turn, the player must still roll to see if a shift occurs, but his or her cards are not used during the subsequent shuffling and redealing. Calling Phase ------------- After the shifting phase is completed, the player whose turn it is asks if anyone would like to call the hand. When a hand is called, each player must immediately place their cards face-up on the table and declare what they have. [Ed. note: in the Star Wars galaxy, the table emits a low-frequency "suspension field" that locks the values of the cards in place.] See "Winning a hand" below for victory conditions and penalties. A player may only call during the calling phase of another player's turn; i.e., he or she may *not* do so during his or her own turn. No one may call the hand during the caling phase until every player, including the dealer, has had at least one turn. If a hand is called, play proceeds to the drawing phase. If no one chooses to call a hand, play goes back to the betting phase for another round. Note: You may wish to increase the minimum number of turns required before a hand may be called when playing with less than four players; this allows for more interesting (and richer!) hands to develop. Drawing Phase ------------- After the calling phase, the player whose turn it is has the option to draw one card from the deck. If the player holds more than two cards, he or she has the option to exchange one of the cards in his or her hand for a card drawn from the deck *or* simply draw a card from the deck and had it to his or hand, but not both. Note that discarded cards are removed from play and not put back in the deck. There is no limit to the number of cards that a player may hold in his or her hand, but a player may not have *less* than two cards at any time. Winning a Hand ----------------- When a hand is called, the player with the highest card value which is less than or equal to 23 wins the hand. A player may also win a hand if every other player folds. Note that the winning player wins the hand pot only, not the sabacc pot. If any player has a total which is greater than 23, less than negative 23, or exactly 0 when the hand is called, he or she has "bombed out." When a player bombs out, he or she must match the number of credits currently in the hand pot and pay it to the sabacc pot. In addition, if the player who called the hand does not win it, he or she must pay the sabacc pot just as if he or she had bombed out. If two or more players are tied, they must participate in a "sudden demise." In a sudden demise, the dealer deals each tied player an additional card from the deck which is then added to their original hands. The best modified hand, which is still equal to or less than 23, takes the pot. If there is still a tie after the additional deal, the players split the pot. Special Hands and the Sabacc Pot ----------------- To win the sabacc pot, a player must have one of two special hands. The first occurs when has a card total of exactly 23. This hand is called "Pure Sabacc," and is usually accompanied by an ethusiastic cry of "Sabacc!" when the cards are turned over. The other special hand is called an "Idiot's Array" or "Literal Sabacc." To achieve this hand, a player must have the Idiot face card (value 0), a two of any suit, and a three of any suit; i.e., a 0-2-3. An Idiot's Array beats a Pure Sabacc, but if two or more players have the same special hand, a sudden demise is held for both the hand and sabacc pots. Note that a special hand, like any other, can only be declared when a hand is called. -- M. Brent Sleeper -- bsleeper@carleton.edu Flightpath Communications -- Flightpath@aol.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Marc J.S Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 19:27:23 -0500 Here is the new version of my Sabacc rules. Let me know what you think. Sabacc Rules ver. 1.4 by: Marc J.S. (Dagobah@delphi.com) THE GAME Sabacc is a card game played with a deck of 76 cards. In the Star Wars universe, this game is played with an electronic deck in which the cards change value due to electronic impulses. There are 4 suits in the game of sabacc, and they are staves, sabers, coins, & flasks. They are also eleven numbered cards and four ranked cards; commander, mistress, master, and ace. The deck also includes sixteen face cards. Since we can't send electronic signals to the cards and make them change, I have adapted the game to be played without technology. There is a list of all the rules below. Me and my friends have tested all of the rules and we found that they all work. I hope you enjoy this version of Sabacc. I will upgrade this version as I make new rules. If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail Dagobah@delphi.com. Also, please feel free to add to these rules. CARDS You will have to use two decks and change the cards around by drawing or writing on them to meet these requirements for sabacc: Suits There are four suits in the game of sabacc. Staves - You can use any suit really, and possibly change it around. Sabers - You can use spades because of the pointy top or you can change around other suits. Flasks - You can use any suit for this one to, and change it around. Coins - This one is simple, you can just use diamonds and you don't need to change anything. Numbered Cards Each suit contains eleven numbered cards. There are four of each numbered card. One - Take any card from the second deck, scratch out the number, and make it 1. Two through Ten - Use the cards from the first deck already marked with the numbers 2 to 10. Eleven - Take any card from the second deck, scratch out the number, and make it 11. Ranked Cards Each suit contains four ranked cards. Use the face cards from the first deck. There are four of each ranked card. Commander - Use king or jack. Mistress - Use the queen. Master - Use king or jack. Ace - Simple, just use the ace. Face Cards The game has sixteen face cards. These are listed below and there are two of each. These cards are not assigned a suit. The different rules change the value of the cards, which can be positive or negative. The idiot card's value never changes and is always zero no matter what rules are played by. You can change any of the face cards from the second deck to these face cards and can use the jokers for the idiot cards. Idiot Rancor Jedi Knight Jedi Master Dark Jedi Lord of Sith Smuggler Bounty Hunter STANDARD RULES The standard rules never change no matter what version of the game is played. Sabacc is always played with a deck of 76 cards. The idiot card always has a value of zero and the numbered cards are worth what they are (one=1, two=2, etc.). The ranked cards are valued as follows: Commander=12, Mistress=13, Master=14, Ace=15. The game is dealt out like poker, except each player has four cards instead of five. When four cards are dealt to each player, you may discard cards and get new ones to replace them. The number of cards you are able to discard depends on the rules you are playing by. Add up the value of your cards to find your total. If your total is under 23, than your hand value is the same as your total. If you have a total over 23, then you subtract 23 from what you have to get the value of your hand (example: you have a hand totaling 29, 29-23=6, your hand is worth six). If your hand totals over 46, then you automatically lost. To have a perfect hand in Sabacc, all of your cards must must have a value of 23. A perfect hand automatically wins (NOTE: A hand totaling 23 beats a hand totaling 46). You can also win with an idiot's array; an idiot card plus a two and a three. An idiot's array automatically wins if no one has a perfect hand. The different rules will list a winning combination of cards that will win if no one has a perfect hand or an Idiot's Array. If no player gets 23, has an idiot's array, or has the winning card combination, then the player with the highest hand value wins. The rest of the rules change due to what version of the game you are playing. RULES The different rules for Sabacc are listed below. So far, I have made five rules plus random sabacc and as I make more, I will update this version of Sabacc. Rebel Alliance Rules You may discard no more than three cards. The combination of cards is to have both Jedi Knights and an ace, which is called a Force Array. The values of the face cards are listed below. Rancor = 7 Jedi Knight = 3 Jedi Master = 4 Dark Jedi = 12 Lord of Sith = -10 Smuggler = 5 Bounty Hunter = 9 Imperial Rules You may discard two cards only, no more or less than two. The set combination of cards is to have a Lord of Sith, a Commander, and an Ace. This is called a Sith Array. The card values are listed below. Rancor = 7 Jedi Knight = 15 Jedi Master = -9 Dark Jedi = 3 Lord of Sith = 4 Smuggler = 7 Bounty Hunter = 3 Corellian Rules You may discard no less than two cards. The combination of cards is to have both smuggler's and any Numbered Card in the Coin suit, which is called a Smuggler's Array. Card values are as follows. Rancor = 4 Jedi Knight= 10 Jedi Master = -13 Dark Jedi = 11 Lord of Sith = 11 Smuggler = 4 Bounty Hunter = 3 New Republic Rules You have a choice of discarding one or three cards, and you may not discard any other number of cards besides one and three. The combination of cards is a Jedi Knight, a Jedi Master, and a Smuggler. This is called a Republic Array. Face card values are listed below. Rancor = 8 Jedi Knight = 4 Jedi Master = 3 Dark Jedi = 12 Lord of Sith = -11 Smuggler = 4 Bounty Hunter = 10 Old Republic Rules You can discard up to two cards, and up to four if you have a Jedi Master in your hand. You must show the other players the Jedi Master card in order to discard three or four cards. The combination of cards is a Jedi Knight, a Jedi Master, and any Numbered Saber. This is called a Jedi's Array. Face card values are listed below. Rancor = 9 Jedi Knight = 3 Jedi Master = 3 Dark Jedi = -14 Lord of Sith = 10 Smuggler = 10 Bounty Hunter = 9 Cloud City Casino Rules Using these rules, you can discard two or four cards. The winning combination of cards for these rules is to have two smugglers and a Jedi Knight card. This is called a Partnership Array. Rancor = 7 Jedi Knight = 4 Jedi Master = 6 Dark Jedi = 9 Lord of Sith = -8 Smuggler = 5 Bounty Hunter = 7 Corporate Sector Rules You may discard three cards using these rules, no more or less than three. The combination of cards for these rules is called a Hunted Array. To get this array, you must have both bounty hunters and any numbered coin. Rancor = 5 Jedi Knight = -7 Jedi Master = 8 Dark Jedi = 7 Lord of Sith = 8 Smuggler = 6 Bounty Hunter = 3 Crseih Station Rules You can discard up to two cards, no more than two. The set combination of cards is to have two have four flasks either numbered or ranked. This is called a Temporal Array. Rancor = 7 Jedi Knight = 8 Jedi Master = -6 Dark Jedi = 5 Lord of Sith = 4 Smuggler = 6 Bounty Hunter = 6 Mos Eisley Rules You may discard one card or up to four if you have a bounty hunter or smuggler in your hand. The set combination of cards is called a Criminal's Array and to get it, you must have a smuggler, a bounty hunter, and any numbered coin. Rancor = 5 Jedi Knight = 7 Jedi Master = 8 Dark Jedi = -11 Lord of Sith = 10 Smuggler = 6 Bounty Hunter = 5 Random Sabacc In random Sabacc, the game is timed and the rules are changed at a set time interval. To play random Sabacc, you must write down the names of all of the rules on seperate pieces of paper or notecards and place them, upside down, scattered in a pile. You also need a clock that could tell you to change the game every two minutes. At the start of the game and every two minutes, someone picks a paper or card from the pile and shows everyone what rules are to be played by. The person then places the paper or card back into the scattered pile and then mixes the pile again up so that the next rules will be totally random. Whatever you are doing during the new rules; taking cards, showing your hand, etc., must follow the rules that are currently being played by. If you are in the middle of discarding cards, then you may follow the old rules and each player after you must follow the new rules. If you are in the middle of showing the value of your hand when the rules change, then your hand, everyone's hand shown before you, and everyone's hand shown after you, is changed to follow the new rules. SCORING You can use scoring in a game of Sabacc, but it is not required. To use scoring in Sabacc you must use the following rules. At the end of a hand of Sabacc, your score for that hand is the same as your hand value. If you get an Idiot's Array or another Array, then your score is 23. If you win the hand, you get a 10 point bonus added to your score for that hand. If you go over 46, then you subtract 46 from your total, and you go back that many points (example: Your hand totals 48, 48-46=2, you go back two points). Add all the scores from all of your hands to get your total score (NOTE: you must add a negative score if you go over 46). You can set a time limit for the game and the player with the highest total score at the end, wins. SKIFTER CARDS Using Skifter cards is another option that you may choose to use, but is not required to play the game. In the Star Wars universe, cheaters use skifter cards, but in this low tech version of the game, they can be incorporated in to normal game play. The rules for using skifters are also more open to change. A player may tap the corner of a skifter card to change its value in the Star Wars universe, but that would be hard to do here. If you actually want to cheat with skifters, the only I can say is to keep some of those left over cards from the second deck up your sleeve or someplace else hidden. To use skifter cards in a fair game, get any leftover cards from the second deck. Make two Master Skifter cards by writing "Master Skifter" on them. Any card can be used to make the Master Skifters. Now make many normal Skifter cards by simply writing "Skifter" on them. For the normal ones, you must also assign it a numbered or ranked value. (NOTE: Skifter cards do not have a set suit.) You now have eight skifter cards; two Master Skifters, and one normal Skifter. Now you can put the skifter cards in to the deck. You may not put more than six skifter cards of either type in to one deck, but you may make as many of the normal ones as you like. You will never use more than two master skifters in one deck. (example: You put in 4 normal Skifters and 2 Master Skifters. You may not put in any more. 2 + 4 = 6 and six is the limit on the number of skifter cards. example: Another combination would be 3 normal Skifters and no Master skifters. 3 is not more than six, so you may also use this combination.) When the cards are dealt out and you get a Master Skifter in your hand, you can assign it any numbered or ranked value. It is a pure wild card. You may not assign it a face card value, though. If you get a normal Skifter in your hand, you may use the value that is assigned to it or one higher or lower than it. (example: The value of the normal Skifter card is 6. You may use it as 6 or one higher; 7, or one lower; 5. example: The value of a normal skifter card is an ace. You may use it as an ace, a master, or a one.) For either type of Skifter card, you may assign it any suit you want when it is in your hand. Remember, a natural hand always beats a hand of the same value that includes a Skifter or Skifters.