What Is Dejarik, How Do You Play It, & Does Chewbacca Really Cheat?

Summary

• Dejarik, also known as holochess, is a popular game in the Star Wars galaxy, with a rich history based on ancient games like Shah-tezh.
• The game is played with holographic monsters with unique stats, and the attacker’s Attack value deducts from the target’s Health points.
• Dejarik is seen in various Star Wars media, from comics to TV shows, and even in live-action movies like The Rise of Skywalker and Rogue One.

As a lived-in world, the Star Wars galaxy has its own traditions, cultures, and even games – like the classic ‘dejarik’, Star Wars’ version of chess. First depicted in the original Star Wars movie in 1977, later retitled A New Hope, dejarik is a core part of the now-expansive universe’s DNA. Being referenced constantly in both obvious and subtle ways, dejarik is an important part of Star Wars both in and out-of-universe.

The original sequence that dejarik appears in is onboard the Millennium Falcon, as Luke first trains with his lightsaber and blocks lasers from the floating remote. Chewbacca and R2-D2 play the game on a small, round, checker-boarded table. All the pieces are monsters, fighting according to buttons pressed on the sides of the table. Behind the scenes, the creatures were all created using stop-motion animation, leading to some very memorable effects – but there’s much more to dejarik than just its effects.

What Is Star Wars Chess?

Dejarik, Space Chess Seen On The Millennium Falcon

Dejarik was a very well-established and popular game within the Star Wars galaxy. Also known as “holochess”, it had a nearly ancient history, being a modern version of the incredibly ancient game of Shah-tezh, which was played similarly. Being so versatile, dejarik was commonplace in starships, ports, cantinas, and even in homes – becoming a staple galaxy-wide. There’s even a non-holographic, hand-carved game of dejarik being played in Saw Gerrera’s partisan base on Jedha in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

How To Play Star Wars Chess

Pieces

Dejarik is played with several different holographic monsters, including the Houjix, the Scrimp, the Ghhhk, the Ng’ok, the K’lor’slug, the Molator, the Karkath, the Kintan Strider, the Mantellian Savrip, the Monnok, and the Bulbous. These creatures are all based on different real and legendary animals from across the galaxy, which adds some interesting cultural specificity to the game. Before the game begins, each player chooses four of these monsters that will compose their team.

Setup

After choosing 4 pieces, each player sets them up in specific places on the 25-space table, on their own halves. Every holographic monster has individualized stats based around Attack, Range, Health, and Movement. The Attack value denotes how much damage a monster can do, while Range denotes how far it can attack. Meanwhile, Health points are how much damage a monster can take, and the Movement value is how many spaces the monster can move.

Play

When a monster is moved to a space within attacking range (Range value) of another, it can attack. This attack is fully animated, as seen in A New Hope, with the Mantellian Savrip piece picking up and body slamming the Kintan Strider piece into the table. The attacker’s Attack value will then be deducted from the target’s Health points, which, if diminished, will cause the target to be removed from the table. The player with the last pieces standing wins.

Where Dejarik Is Seen In Star Wars

Holochess Is All Over The Galaxy

Dejarik has appeared in-universe in all mediums of Star Wars storytelling, from comics to books, and even in video games. In on-screen TV and movies, it appears several times as well. Dejarik can be seen in three episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but much more prominently in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, when Omega becomes rather skilled at the simple game after being taught it by the Trandoshan Cid.

Later, and still in animation, dejarik can be seen in Star Wars Rebels, onboard the Ghost. The Ghost was closely modeled after the Millennium Falcon, and the dejarik table appears in almost the exact same setup as it does in the original trilogy’s iconic freighter. Dejarik also appears in live-action movies, like the previously-mentioned physically carved appearance in Rogue One and its original appearance in A New Hope. The holographic game also appears onboard the Falcon with an accidental activation in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and a real game in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Does Chewbacca Really Cheat At Dejarik?

Will Ancient Wookiee Really Rip Your Arms Off?

In the final Skywalker saga movie, The Rise of Skywalker, Poe and Finn play a game of dejarik with Chewbacca in the movie’s opening. As he beats them yet again, they accuse him of cheating – but does he actually? Based on the technology involved in a holographic display, it doesn’t seem possible. Clearly, the Wookiee is just 235 years old at that point and knows a thing or two about the game. Also, Wookiees are known for something specific when it comes to dejarik.

In its first appearance ever, dejarik is accompanied by an incredibly iconic line from Han Solo about Chewbacca playing the game. He says “It’s not wise to upset a Wookiee,” and C-3PO responds, “But sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid.” That’s when Han reveals “That’s ’cause droids don’t pull people’s arms out of their sockets when they lose.” That’s right, Chewie is such a sore loser that he’ll rip an arm off if he’s beaten at dejarik.

Whether or not that’s a reality is debatable. Chewbacca does tear off Unkar Plutt’s arms in a deleted scene from The Force Awakens, but not in anything canon. This reputation might be what causes him to win so much – a confidence given to the Wookiee that’s allowed him to grow his skills immensely, making him a nearly unbeatable adversary in Star Wars‘s version of chess, dejarik.

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