KESSEL SABACC

Rules for Kessel Sabacc

GOAL

In Kessel Sabacc, you invest chips to improve your hand and get a pair, a Sabacc hand. To win a round, you need to have the best hand at the end of 3 turns.

The last player with chips in stock wins the game, and the content of the credits pot.

CARDS

The deck comprises 44 cards divided into two suits or families: Sand and Blood. Each suit contains:

18 positive cards valued from 1 to 6, with 3 of each value
3 Imposter Cards
1 Sylop Card

The card value is depicted by its header and central symbol which represent Corellian numeral values.

HAND VALUE

The goal is to minimize your hand value. You are seeking to both match the value of your cards (a pair with 0 difference between them) and to get the closest value to 0.

A sabacc hand consisting of lower value cards is stronger, with a hand of 0/0 being the best card value, and 6 being the worst.

SPECIAL CARDS

Sylop Cards

When revealed, the Sylop will take the value of the other card in your hand, forming a pair and a Sabacc hand. This is known as a Sylop Sabacc. A pair of Sylops is a Pure Sabacc. There is 1 Sylop card in each suit or family.

Imposter Cards

When revealed, the player will throw a pair of dice and choose 1 of the values thrown. The Imposter takes on the value of the chosen dice, completing your hand. There are 3 Imposters per suit or family.

A Sylop Sabacc or Imposter Sabacc are equivalent to a standard Sabacc hand of the same value.

A pair of Sylops is a Pure Sabacc, and is the best hand in the game.

SHIFT TOKENS

Kessel Sabacc is played with 3 Shift Tokens, which are powerful game modifiers.

A Shift Token can be played once in the game, and only at the beginning of your turn, before Standing or Drawing.

There are 16 types of Shift Token which may be selected or randomly drafted for play (see below).

GAMEPLAY PHASES

Games of Kessel Sabacc proceed in the following way:

FIRST ROUND SETUP

Determine Starting Player: The starting player rotates clockwise each round.
Stake: Each player contributes a stake to the Sabacc pot.
Chip Stock: Each player receives a stock of 4-8 Tax Chips according to the intended length of the game and size of the stke.
Deal Cards: Players are dealt 2 cards, one from the each family of Sand and Blood.
Draw Piles: The remaining cards form separate draw piles for Sand and Blood cards. 1 Card is drawn from each to start the Discard Piles for each family.
Assign Shift Tokens: Players either select from an available stock of Shift Tokens, are assigned a predetermined selection, or receive a random selection of tokens.

Each game proceeds through 3 rounds. In each round, each player gets 3 turns. Each round concludes with the Reveal.

CARD TURNS

On their turn, player may:

Draw a Card — Invest 1 Tax Chip to draw a card from the top of any of the Draw or DIscard piles. After drawing you must discard a card from the same family, always keeping one card of each family in hand.
Stand — Pass without drawing a card or investing any chips.

Each round lasts 3 turns, giving you 3 opportunities to improve your hand.

REVEAL

After each player has played 3 times, everyone reveals their hands. If every player stands during a turn, everyone reveals their hands.

WIN & LOSS CONDITIONS

The player with a pair closest to zero wins the round. The player who wins a round loses no tax chips. All of their invested chips are returned to their stock.

Players who have a Sabacc hand but do not win will lose their invested chips, and are also taxed one chip from their stock.

Without a Sabacc hand, you lose your invested chips, and are taxed an amount equal to the difference of your card values. All taxed chips are lost.

If your chips stock is empty by the end of the reveal phase, you are eliminated from the game.

You win the game upon being the last player with chips in stock, and collect the content of the Sabacc Pot.

SHIFT TOKENS

Corellian Spike has many variations, each with its own twist on the rules and strategies. To allow for more variation, the game host can select different options to customize the game:

Galaxy Series variant — uses three discard piles (pilot, wing, gunner) with increasing trade cost for more appealing card-gathering opportunities.
Gain from discard pile — can be enabled to let players gain from both the draw and discard piles.
Spike Dice Phase — can be disabled to remove some unpredictability.
Swap or gain cost — can be enabled to add a cost to gain or swap cards, paid to the hand pot.

GAME VARIANTS

VARIANT SHIFT TOKENS

In the vast galaxy, many cantinas and casinos have created additional kinds of Shift Tokens that add a new twist to the game. These tokens lie outside of the 16 official tokens recognised by bodies like the Galactic Gaming Federation and the Sabacc Star League. As such, they are known as 'Off-Book' Tokens, and are often not accepted as regulation in official refeered matches and tournaments. Nevertheless, it is common practise for many cantinas and casinos to craft their own signature token for VIP members and valued patrons.

Community Shift Token Pack

A collection of Shift Tokens created by members of the Sabacc community. Free to download for personal use. Free to print or use for personal orders and prints. Free to offer for commercial STLs and prints.

Rules for Kessel Sabacc

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GAME VARIANTS

SUMMARY

KESSEL SABACC

Rules for Kessel Sabacc

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