"Honest stone"

"Honest stones" were irregular polyhedron–shaped items that changed their color when in the presence of electronic cheating devices that were used in sabacc games. A trio of "honest stones" was present on a sabacc table during a game of the Corellian Spike variant at the Lodge saloon of the planet Vandor in 10 BBY.

Description

"Honest stones" were a type of item used to detect cheating during sabacc games. They had the shape of irregular polyhedrons and were made out of a dark purple or light gray material with a marble-like surface. When in the presence of numerous varieties of electronic cheating technology, "honest stones" would change their color.^[1]

History

Three "honest stones" were once present on a sabacc table of the Lodge, where they were placed in front of Saucer Head (left from center).

In 10 BBY,^[2] during a game of^[3] the Corellian Spike variant of sabacc at the saloon known as the Lodge on the planet Vandor, three "honest stones," one light and two dark,^[1] were present on the saloon's gaming table.^[3] They were strung on a solid wire attached to a wooden block, atop which also rested a holder for a deck of sabacc cards as well as a pair of spike dice used in the game.^[1] The block was placed in front of the game's dealer,^[3] Saucer Head.^[4] That night's game was ultimately won by the gambler Lando Calrissian, a victory that was achieved through his usage of^[3] a grabber—a mechanical, spring-powered device^[5] that let Calrissian surreptitiously slip a hidden sabacc card out of his shirt's sleeve into his hand.^[3]

Behind the scenes

"Honest stones" were created for Solo: A Star Wars Story. — "Honest stones" were created for *Solo: A Star Wars Story*.

"Honest stones" appeared in the Star Wars Anthology Series film Solo: A Star Wars Story,^[3] which released on May 25, 2018.^[6] They were named by the accompanying reference book Solo: A Star Wars Story The Official Guide by Pablo Hidalgo.^[1]

Before the film's release, the prop representing the set of "honest stones" seen in the film was also featured in a tie-in advertisement for the restaurant Denny's. In the advertisement, which was released on April 4, 2018 and re-enacts a different version of the corresponding scene from the film, the items are also present on the sabacc table. Saucer Head is absent from the scene, and the "honest stones" are situated between the advertisement's representations of Lando Calrissian and^[7] the thief Han Solo.^[3] The prop from Solo was also present at a real-life sabacc game played as part of the September 26, 2018 installment of The Star Wars Show YouTube video series by the host Andi Gutierrez and the film's supervising stand-by propman Sonny Merchant.^[8]