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