Gambling has been around in human culture since the first people walked the Earth. From the chariot races of ancient Greece and Egypt, to gladiatorial combat in Rome, to the jousting events so popular in the late medieval, and early Renaissance periods, gambling has remained a part of human culture and civilization for thousands of years.
Likewise, science fiction has been a part of our culture for quite some time, from the early 1800s, when Marry Shelley released her magnum opus Frankenstein, to the sci-fi revolution of the 20th century, science fiction has remained a popular form of literature, and later cinema.
As the main appeal of science fiction is imagining how advancements in technology and science will impact human nature, culture, and society, it is not much of a surprise that many science fiction writers have incorporated the time-honored tradition of gambling into their future worlds. With the advent of online casinos, many would argue that the science fiction world and the gambling world have finally intertwined in real life, the way they have intertwined many times on the page. Thanks to sites like Novibet, fans can try out the latest casino games online.
While many sci-fi writers, past or present, never predicted that the future of gambling would be so simple, many have come up with complicated, unique and fascinating gambling games for their fictional worlds. In this article we will look through some of them.
Betting on The Hunger Games
One of the most popular science fiction franchises in recent years has been The Hunger Games franchise of novels and films. The novels build a world where people, often times teens, are forced to compete in a battle royale to the death, by the rich elite of the world. This kind of competition, spurred on by amoral elites, of course leads to many people betting on the outcome of these battles.
Throughout the books, and films, often times people talk about the successful betting shops, which allow people to place their bets on who they think will win the Hunger Game, who will go down first, etc.
Thunderdome Fights from Mad Max
Reminiscent of the gladiatorial combat of Ancient Rome, the post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome introduces us to a popular pastime, wherein volunteers, or more often prisoners, compete in a fight to the death within a confined arena, with many of the onlookers betting on the result.
Sabacc from Star Wars
Star Wars is, without a doubt, the most famous science fiction franchise of all time. There are not many people who haven’t at least heard the name of the franchise, and with the recent Disney films released, the popularity of Star Wars has seen a resurgence.
Naturally, the most popular sci-fi franchise, features the most popular, fictional gambling game, in the form of Sabacc. Sabacc is a card game played on the fictional world of Tatooine, first introduced to us on screen through fan-favorite character, Han Solo.
The popularity of Sabacc is such, that rules for the game have been released, and tutorials on how to play the game permeate YouTube and the internet.
