Nine Kingdoms is a cut throat card game for 2-4 players that plays in 20 minutes.
Rules below. Download print-and-play edition here.
Rules
Players compete to claim control over nine kingdoms by infiltrating courts and bribing and assassinating rivals.
When you have most influence you can claim a kingdom and use its special ability to further your goals.
At the end of the game, players score points for claimed kingdoms and for cards in their scoring piles.
Components
The game uses a deck of 60 Influence cards plus 9 Kingdom cards numbered 1-9.
The Influence deck consists of 1 card valued 1, 2 cards valued 2, and so on up to 9 cards valued 9. Plus 15 Money cards $.
Setup
Place the 9 Kingdom cards face up on the table between the players.
Decide on a first player. Use a die to keep track of who is first player and what round you are playing. You will play six rounds.
The player to the right of the first player shuffles the influence cards and deals five cards to each player.
Play
Each player picks two of the five cards to play this round and discards the remaining three cards face down.
Starting with the first player, reveal cards and apply the effect as follows.
Cards valued 1-9 are added to the players tableau face up in front of them.
Certain combinations of cards have an additional effect.
Bury
When you play two money cards ($, $), add both $ cards to your face down scoring pile. Cards in your scoring pile are worth 1 VP at the end of the game.
Bribe
When you play a card values 1-9 and a money card (X, $), you may place the $ card in the scoring pile of another player and take one card from their tableau valued X, X+1, or X-1, and add it to your tableau. Otherwise discard the $ card.
Siege Attack
When you play two cards valued X+1 and X-1, you may discard one card valued X from the tableau of another player.
Flank Attack
When you play two cards valued X and X+1, you may discard one card valued X-1 or X+2 from the table of another player.
Claiming a kingdom
When you have more cards matching a kingdom in your tableau than any other player, you may claim the kingdom. Take the Kingdom card and place it in your tableau.
You may claim a kingdom at any time during your turn and you may claim as many kingdoms as you can.
You lose your claim to a kingdom if you lose your last card with that value from your tableau. Return the kingdom card to the centre of the table.
Kingdom abilities
Each kingdom except Kingdom 9 grants a special ability to the player who has claimed it. The ability can be used at any time during your turn including the turn that you claim them.
You may for instance…
- Play 6 and $, claim Kingdom 6 and then add the $ card to your scoring pile and take a 5, 6, or 7 from another player's tableau.
- Play a 3 and a 4, claim Kingdom 3 and then Flank Attack to discard both a 2 and a 5 from other players' tableaus.
- Play two 8s to claim Kingdom 8 from another player who have only one 8 and then add one of the two 8s to your scoring pile and still keep Kingdom 8
Kingdoms 4, 5 and 7 have abilities that you may use in the turn of another player while Kingdom 2 gives a benefit when scoring at the end of the game.
Kingdom 1
Claim a kingdom even if you are tied with another player.
Kingdom 2
Cards in your scoring pile are worth double VP at end of game.
Kingdom 3
When you Flank Attack you may discard two cards from opponent tableaus.
Kingdom 4
Your cards can only be stolen by a direct Bribe (X+$).
Kingdom 5
You cannot be targeted by a Flank Attack.
Kingdom 6
When playing $ to Bribe, add $ to your own scoring pile.
Kingdom 7
When targeted by a Flank Attack or Siege Attack, discard one of the two cards used for the attack.
Kingdom 8
You may take one card from your tableau and add it face down to your scoring pile.
Kingdom 9
No effect.
Next round
Pass the first player token to the player on the left after each hand and increase the round counter. Deal from the deck until it runs out, then shuffle discards into the deck the remaining rounds. Game ends after the sixth round.
Scoring
Each claimed kingdom is worth 1-9 points as per their number. E.g. Kingdom 9 is worth 9 points while Kingdom 5 is worth 5 points.
Each face down card is worth 1 VP (double if you have claimed Kingdom 2).
The winner is the player with the most points. Play multiple games and keep track of scores. First to 100 wins.
Card combinations
| Effect name | Card 1 | Card 2 | Effect |
| Bury | $ | $ | Add both $ cards to your scoring pile. |
| Bribe | $ | X | Add the $ card to another player's scoring pile then take one card from their tableau valued X-1, X, or X+1. |
| Siege Attack | X-1 | X+1 | Discard one card valued X from another player’s tableau. |
| Flank Attack | X | X+1 | Discard one card valued X-1 or X+2 from another player’s tableau. |