Dejarik

"I suggest a new strategy, Artoo. Let the Wookiee win."

―C-3PO to R2-D2 when an advantageous move of R2's prompts Han Solo to explain that Wookiees sometimes pull out people's arms^[src]

Dejarik was a popular two-player game in which teams of holographic creatures battled each other on a circular board. A variant of the more ancient Shah-tezh, dejarik was commonly played on starships and in homes throughout the galaxy from well before the time of the Clone Wars and long through the reign of the Galactic Empire.

SetupEdit

Physical-Dejarik — Saw Gerrera's Partisans playing a game of physical dejarik

The game was played on a circular board divided into three concentric rings. The outer and middle rings were each divided into twelve checkered "squares", while the inner circle was a single area. When activated, the board would project full color holographic playing pieces depicting creatures both real and mythological from across the galaxy.^[1] Available pieces included the Ghhhk, Grimtaash the Molator, the Houjix, the Kintan strider, the K'lor'slug, the Mantellian Savrip, the Monnok, and the Ng'ok.^[2]

Non-holographic versions of dejarik, using physical pieces, also existed.^[3]

RulesEdit

In dejarik, two players controlled opposing teams of monsters. The players could move their pieces to attack one another, and said pieces would behave like living beings when in battle. A successful move resulted in one monster beating another in holo-animated combat.^[4]

HistoryEdit

Invented long before the Clone Wars,^[1] dejarik was in fact, like chess and Moebius, a variant of the even more ancient game of Shah-tezh.^[5]

Around 20 BBY,^[6] the planet Abafar hosted the Abafar Junior Dejarik Club in the city of Pons Ora. Advertisements for the club strictly prohibited Wookiees from participating,^[7] because members of that species were particularly notorious for becoming rather upset upon losing.^[1]

During the early rebellion against the Galactic Empire, on Jedha, Saw Gerrera's Partisans played dejarik in a hand-carved physical version.^[3]

Behind the scenesEdit

Dejarik was portrayed in the first Star Wars film and The Force Awakens with stop-motion animation directed by Phil Tippett. New digitally printed models of the Dejarik figures were created for The Force Awakens by scanning the originals.^[8]

Although Lucasfilm developed gameplay rules for Dejarik, they never were publicly released.^[9]