3.4 KiB
How to play
Ninelands is played on a 9×9 board split into nine lands. You place pieces one by one. Each piece claims cells around it and earns gold. The game ends when no piece fits anywhere anymore, or when you press End game.
The two rules of claimed land
- Nobody can build on claimed land, not even you.
- Every new piece must connect to your domain (the cells you hold). Only the castle may stand alone.
Lakes stop every claim. Mountains and moor cost double reach, so a claim gets shorter when it runs into them.
The four pieces
| Piece | Cost | Claims | Reach | Crosses land borders | Where it may stand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle | free | straight lines | 5 | yes | anywhere except moor and lakes; only one, always first |
| Farmer | free | the 8 cells around it | 1 | no | right next to your domain, in the same land; not in the moor |
| Knight | 10 | straight lines | 2 | no | touching your domain inside its own land |
| Bishop | 15 | diagonal lines | 2 | yes | touching your domain anywhere, also in the moor |
Reach is a budget per direction: pasture costs 1, mountains and moor cost 2, a lake ends the line.
Knights earn double for everything. Some laws change the costs of knights and bishops (see Laws).
Gold
A piece earns gold for the cell it stands on:
| Cell | Gold |
|---|---|
| Pasture (green) | 5 |
| Pasture in a land that has a lake | 7 |
| Ore (mountains) or herbs (moor) | 20 |
| Anything else | 0 |
A knight doubles it: 10 or 14 on pasture, 40 on a treasure. Building costs are deducted.
Ore and herbs can only be taken by a piece standing on them. If one of your claims covers an untaken treasure, it is gone for good, for you too. Take treasures first.
Ruling lands
You rule a land when you hold at least half of its cells. Lakes don't count. A cell is held when your piece stands on it or when it lies in your claim. The land's flag takes your colour.
Stars
Every map has three stars:
- ★ Gold: at least the gold goal at the end of the game.
- ★ Lands: rule at least the lands goal at the end.
- ★ Both in the same game.
The goals are not set by hand. Computer players play the very same map several times, and the goals are what the best of them reached. So every goal is reachable, and a human who plans ahead usually beats them.
Gold counts at the end: a knight or bishop in your last moves costs gold and can lose the gold star again.
Controls
- Tap a cell to see the preview: the cells it would claim and the gold it would earn. Tap again to place.
- The line below the board tells you why a piece fits or doesn't.
- ↶ undoes your last move.
- End game (tap twice) finishes the game. When no remaining move earns gold, the game suggests it.
Only your first game counts
Your first finished game of a day goes on that day's leaderboard. After that you can play again for practice; it won't change your result. See Leaderboard, streaks and your realm.