How to Play Star Wars: Jabba's Palace Card Game (Rules and Instructions) (A Love Letter Game)

Originally released back in 2012, Love Letter has become quite popular. This has spawned quite a few different versions of the game utilizing different themes. Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace is one of the newest Love Letter games which utilizes the Star Wars theme. The game takes place during the rescue attempt at the beginning of the Return of the Jedi. Can you outwit the other players to earn enough victory tokens to win the game?

Year: 2022 | Publisher: Z-Man Games | Designer: Justin Kemppainen, Todd Michlitsch | Artist: Jasmine Radue, Samuel R. Shimota

Genres: Card, Deduction

Ages: 10+ | Number of Players: 2-6 | Length of Game: 20-30 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: Moderate

Components: 19 character cards, 4 agenda cards, 6 reference cards, 13 victory tokens, cloth bag, instructions

Where to Purchase: Amazon, eBay Any purchases made through these links (including other products) help keep Geeky Hobbies running. Thank you for your support.

Objective of Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace

The objective of Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace is to acquire enough victory tokens before the other players.

Setup for Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace

Give each player a reference card. Return all unused reference cards to the bag.
Separate the agenda cards from the character cards. Shuffle the character cards together to create the deck.
Take the top card from the deck and set it aside face down. None of the players should look at this card.
If you are only playing with two players, take the next three cards and turn them face up on the table.
Deal one card to each player. You should not show your card to the other players.
Randomly choose one of the agenda cards to use for the game. The rest of the agenda cards are returned to the bag. The game recommends that you use the “Exalted One” for your first game.
The player who most recently rescued a friend gets to take the first turn.

Playing Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace

Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace is played over a number of rounds.

You will begin your turn by drawing a card from the top of the deck.

You will then choose one of the two cards in your hand to play. The card you play will have a special effect on the game. To see what each card does, check out the Cards section below.

Choosing A Card — The current player has a Guard and Leia Organa card in their hand. They will choose one of these two cards to play.

All cards that are played will be placed face up in front of the player who played them. The cards will remain where they are played until the end of the round.

Eliminating a Player

Some of the card effects will eliminate a player from the round. When a player is eliminated, they will immediately place the card(s) from their hand face up in front of themselves. The player will not take the action printed on the card(s) they placed.

An eliminated player will take no more turns for the rest of the round. Your turn will be skipped, and players can’t play cards for their effect against you.

End of Round in Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace

A round of Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace can end in one of two ways.

If there is only one player left in the round (everyone else has been eliminated), the remaining player wins the round. They will take one victory token (from the bank) for winning the round.

The game otherwise can end when the deck has run out of cards. You will consult the chosen agenda card to determine which of the remaining players have won the round. The player who wins the round will take one victory token. If there is a tie, all tied players will receive one victory token.

If none of the players have acquired enough victory tokens to win the game, another round is played. You will follow the setup instructions (outside of passing out reference cards and choosing a new agenda card) to setup the game for the next round.

The player who won the previous round will start the next round.

Winning Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace

Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace will end when one of the players have acquired enough victory point tokens to win the game. The number of tokens needed to win depends on the number of players. Multiple players can end up winning the game at the same time.

Two players – six victory tokens
Three players – five victory tokens
Four players – four victory tokens
Five players – three victory tokens
Six players – three victory tokens

Winning A picture showing the Luke Skywalker card from the card game Star Wars: Jabba's Palace — This player has earned four victory tokens. Since they are playing a four player game, they have won the game.

The Cards of Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace

Each of the cards in the game have a few key pieces of information.

In the top left corner of the card is a number. This number will be used by some of the card effects.
Underneath the character’s name, the card says what action is taken when it is played.
In the bottom left corner there are a number of dots. The number of dots tells you how many of the corresponding cards there are in the deck.
In the bottom right corner of the card is a symbol. This symbol indicates which faction the card belongs to (rebel or palace). Some of the card effects reference a faction.

Jabba the Hutt Card From Star Wars: Jabba's Palace

#8 Jabba the Hut

When you play Jabba the Hut you will choose one of the other players. If the card in that player’s hand is a rebel, the other player is eliminated from the round.

Jabba the Hutt Card Example — The current player played Jabba the Hutt. The player they chose had Lando Calrissian in their hand. Since it is a rebel card, the chosen player will be eliminated from the round.

Luke Skywalker Card Star Wars: Jabba's Palace

#7 Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker allows you to choose another player. If the chosen player’s card is a palace card, they are eliminated from the round.

Luke Skywalker Card Example — A player has played the Luke Skywalker card. The player they chose had Boba Fett in their hand. As it is a palace card, the player with the Boba Fett card will be eliminated from the current round.

Rancor Card From Star Wars: Jabba's Palace

#6 Rancor

The Rancor eliminates the player with the lowest card in their hand (ignoring #0). Players will start by calling out 1 and going up one number at time. Players will look at the number of the card in their hand. When a player’s number is called, they will reveal their card and will be eliminated from the round. If multiple players have the lowest valued card, all of them will be eliminated. If all of the players are eliminated due to the Rancor card, no one will win the round.

Rancor Card Example — The Rancor card was played. The player who had C-3PO in their hand had the lowest card. They will be eliminated from the round.

Boba Fett Card From Star Wars: Jabba's Palace

#5 Boba Fett

You will choose another player. The chosen player will place their current hand face up in front of you. The effect of the card(s) is not applied. These cards do come into play at the end of a round when determining who won an agenda.

The player will then draw a new card to replace their hand. If the deck is out of cards, they will take the face down card set aside during setup for their card.

Leia Organa Card Star Wars: Jabba's Palace

#5 Leia Organa

Draw two cards from the deck. You will now have three cards in your hand. Choose which of the three cards that you want to keep. The other two cards will be placed on the bottom of the draw pile in the order you choose.

Leia Organa Card Example — The Leia Organa card has been played. The current player has drawn two additional cards from the draw pile. They will get to keep one of these three cards. The other two cards will be placed on the bottom of the draw pile.

When there is only one card left, you draw one card. You will keep one card, and return the other card to the draw pile.

If there are no cards left, the card has no effect.

Bib Fortuna Card from Star Wars: Jabba's Palace

#4 Bib Fortuna

The Bib Fortuna protects you from other player’s cards. Until the start of your next turn, none of the other players may choose you for their card’s effect. You will still be affected by cards that impact everyone (Rancor).

If all of the other players are protected by Bib Fortuna and another player plays a card, that card has no effect.

Lando Calrissian Card Star Wars: Jabba's Palace

#4 Lando Calrissian

Choose another player. You will look at the other player’s hand without letting any other players see. You can then choose to trade hands with them if you want.

Mercenary Card From Star Wars: Jabba'a Palace

#3 Mercenary

You will choose another player. The two players will then compare the cards in their hand (without letting the other players see). The player whose card is a lower number will be eliminated from the round.

Mercenary Card Example — The current player played the Mercenary card. They had a five card in their hand. The player they chose only had a three in their hand. The player they chose will be eliminated from the round.

If there is a tie, neither player is eliminated.

Chewbacca Card From Star Wars Jabba's Palace

#3 Chewbacca

Chewbacca allows you to choose another player. If that player has a palace card with the number four or lower, they are eliminated from the round.

Chewbacca Card Example — A player played their Chewbacca card. Their chosen player had the Mercenary card in their hand. As their card was a three palace card, they will be eliminated from the round.

Salacious Crumb Card From Star Wars: Jabba's Palace

#2 Salacious Crumb

Choose another player. You will get to look at the chosen player’s hand. You may not reveal what card is in their hand to the other players.

R2-D2 Card From Star Wars: Jabba's Palace

#2 R2-D2

You may either choose another player or the card that was set face down at the beginning of the round. You will look at the chosen card without letting the other players know what the card is.

#1 Guard

When you play a guard you will get to choose another player. You will choose a number. If the card in the chosen player’s hand matches the number you picked, they are eliminated from the round.

Guard Card Example — The player who played the Guard card has chosen a player and picked the number two. As the player they chose has a Salacious Crumb card in their hand, they will be eliminated from the round.

C-3PO Card From Star Wars: Jabba's Palace

#1 C-3PO

Choose another player. You will pick a number. If the number matches the card left in the chosen player’s hand, they are eliminated from the round. When the number doesn’t match, they will get to guess what number is in your hand. If they are right, you are eliminated from the game.

C-3PO Card Example — The player who played the C-3PO card guessed that the chosen player had a three card in their hand. As the player had the Chewbacca card, they are eliminated from the round.

#0 Han Solo

If you play Han Solo during the game, it has no effect.

If you have the card in your hand at the end of a round, you gain one victory token. A victory token will still be given out for the agenda card.

Agendas in Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace

At the beginning of the game you will choose an agenda card for the game. The effect of the chosen card will only go into effect if the deck runs out of cards before all but one of the players are eliminated. Players will then use the agenda card to determine who won the round.

Exalted One

All of the players still in the game will compare the cards left in their hands. The player who has the highest numbered card will receive the victory token.

My Kind of Scum

At the end of the round all of the players will reveal their hand. The remaining player with the highest palace card will receive a victory token. The player with the largest rebel card will also receive a victory token.

Jabba’s Court

At the end of the round the players will add up the values of the palace cards played in front of them. The player with the largest total will win the round.

Rescue Mission

At the end of the round the players will count the number of rebel cards played in front of them. The player with the largest quantity will win the round.