Star Wars is a series filled with space battles, blasters, aliens, and robots. Given that there is always some kind of conflict going on in each movie, characters usually have to strategize a way to achieve victory. This isn't always easy against large, intimidating forces like the Empire or the First Order, which have giant armies and deadly, planet-destroying weapons.
However, the characters have used their brains rather than their power to get what they want, given that the Rebels lacked power or because Jedi are pacifistic by nature. Even the villains have taken advantage of another's temporary weakness to rid themselves of an enemy.
10 Qui-Gon Jinn's Bet To Free Anakin Skywalker
Qui-Gon was determined to free Anakin, a slave boy who showed great promise in using the Force. However, his Republic Credits were worthless on Tatooine, and his Jedi mind tricks failed to work on Watto, the junk dealer who owned Anakin.
He decided to make a bet with Watto, in which Anakin would be freed if he won the podrace. This worked out in his favor, without him needing to attract trouble by using power to force Watto to hand over the boy.
9 Anakin's Victory In The Podrace
Sebulba was Anakin's rival in the podrace, who used nefarious means to knock his opponents out of the race. Before the race, Sebulba sabotaged one of Anakin's engines, which kept Anakin from starting the race at the same time as everyone else.
When he was finally able to catch up to Selbulba, one of his engine cables needed to be reattached. Despite all of these mechanical issues and the fact that Sebulba kept trying to ram Anakin's pod, Anakin still managed to fix these problems mid-race and win.
8 Palpatine Begging Anakin For Help
Palpatine did an excellent job of turning Anakin to the dark side. He convinced the young Jedi that he had the power to save people from death and that if Anakin were to join him, he would teach him that power.
This made Anakin slowly trust and rely on him. When cornered by Mace Windu, Palpatine immediately started to play the part of a helpless old man, making Windu look like the villain in that situation. Thanks to his cunning tactics, Anakin came to his rescue.
7 Obi-Wan Having The High Ground
Once Anakin decided to join the dark side, Obi-Wan was left with no choice but to fight him. It was a long and arduous fight, but neither side was willing to back down despite the dangerous, lava-filled location they were fighting in.
Obi-Wan eventually got the high ground and even warned Anakin that he had won the battle at that point. However, Anakin wasn't willing to listen, and Obi-Wan sliced off his legs when Anakin jumped towards him.
6 Leia Sending Off R2-D2
Rebel spies managed to steal the plans to the Death Star, a weapon of the Empire that was capable of destroying planets with no effort. The plans got to Princess Leia, but her ship was invaded by stormtroopers as well as Darth Vader himself.
Knowing that she could not best him in battle, she recorded a message for Obi-Wan and gave R2-D2 the plans. R2-D2 and C-3PO took an escape pod, safely taking the plans away from the Empire.
5 Obi-Wan Losing To Darth Vader
On the Death Star, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca go to save Princess Leia. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan not only tampered with the Death Star's systems to make it possible to escape, but he confronted Darth Vader.
They dueled for a short time, and Obi-Wan noticed that the others were refusing to leave without him. Realizing that victory wasn't important, Obi-Wan gave up his life to become part of the Force so that they could escape, as they were not yet ready to confront Darth Vader.
4 Luke Killing The Rancor With The Gate
When Luke tried to shoot Jabba the Hutt, he and a guard were dropped down a trap door, trapped with the Rancor. The guard immediately starts to panic and makes a lot of noise, while Luke wisely keeps quiet and backs away.
After the guard is eaten, Luke utilizes the things around him, shoving a bone into its mouth and using a rock to smash its fingers when it reaches for him. He rushes away while it is in pain, and when it is under the gate, he throws a rock at a nearby button to crush the creature.
3 R2-D2 Holding Onto Luke's Lightsaber
While at Jabba's palace, R2-D2 was holding onto Luke's lightsaber for him, as no one would have expected the little droid to have it. It shoots the lightsaber out at Luke at the right moment, and Luke uses it to fend off Jabba's guards.
This saved all of their lives, allowing Luke to defeat their captors without worrying about Han being used as a hostage. Even Leia takes advantage of the chaos and confusion by using her chains to kill Jabba.
2 Kylo Ren Killing Snoke
Just as Snoke ordered, Kylo Ren delivered Rey to him. Snoke took her lightsaber from her and began to mock her. He thought little of her, brushing off her attempts to attack him. He probes her mind to find the location of Luke Skywalker and brags that he can see into Kylo's mind as well.
Foolishly trusting in Kylo's loyalty, he did not notice Kylo using the Force to turn and activate the lightsaber, killing his master. Kylo took advantage of his best opportunity to defeat Snoke while he was distracted by his own bragging.
1 Amilyn Holdo Smashes Her Ship Into The Supremacy At Light Speed
Holdo took control of the Rebel ship as everyone else evacuated, knowing that they could not outrun the First Order, who pursued them in their own ship, the Supremacy. To keep the Supremacy from taking down the rest of the evacuating rebel fleet, she turns the ship around and sacrifices herself by ramming it into the Supremacy at light speed.
This tactic caught them off-guard, and in an instant, she not only split the Supremacy in two, but she also took out many of the First Order fleets around it.