Nine Knights Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Components
• Setup
• Objective
• Gameplay
• Fight
• Summoning
  • Example of Fighting and Summoning
• Modified Rules: Defection
  • Example: Defection
• Game End

Introduction

In , players need to read and use their opponent's mind. You will need to move your knights wisely to arrive at your goal before your opponent. At times, you can make bold moves, while at other times, you need to stay cool-headed. Of course, you also need to take responsibility for your actions after every fight.

Components

• Game Board x 1
• Rulebook x 1
• Knight x 18 (2 colors, 3 of each type)
  • There are 3 types of Knights (distinguished by shape): Archer, Warrior, and Ranger.
• Goal Token x 18 (numbered 1-9, 2 each)
• Hidden Token x 5
• Duty Token x 18

Setup

1. Sit across each other and place the Game Board in the middle.

2. Decide who plays which color, then take the according Knights and Duty Tokens.

3. Each player takes Goal Tokens number 1-9, one each.

4. Shuffle the Hidden Tokens face down and choose one each. Both players secretly check their Hidden Tokens and keep them face down in front of them so their opponent cannot see the number. Put the other 3 Tokens back in the box without revealing the number side.

5. Both players put their Duty Tokens on their Knights. When putting these Duty Tokens on your knights, follow these rules:

   1. 1 Duty Token is put on each Knight. All Knights must have 1 Duty Token on them.
   2. While you must be able to see the Duty Tokens on your Knights, turn them so that your opponent cannot see their Duty Tokens.
   3. The Knights are divided into three groups: Duty Tokens 1-3 are the Small Number Group, Duty Tokens 4-6 are the Medium Number Group, and Duty Tokens 7-9 are the High Number Group. Each group needs to have 1 Knight of each type (Archer, Warrior, Ranger). For example, the Warrior type (henceforth Knight 1) can be split up into the three groups by giving the first Warrior the Duty Token 1, the second Warrior the Duty Token 5 (henceforth Knight 5), and the third Warrior the Duty Token 7 (henceforth Knight 7).

6. Randomly choose a first player and start the Placement Phase. During this phase, each player places 6 of their Knights on the Game Board in the following order:

   1. The first player places 1 Knight.
   2. The second player places 2 Knights.
   3. The first player places 2 Knights.
   4. The second player places 2 Knights.
   5. The first player places 2 Knights.

Objective

Move your Knight across the Game Board and reach a Goal Token that has the same number as the Knights' Duty Token, or annihilate all Knights of your opponent.

Gameplay

The first player begins. Turns are taken by moving one of your Knights onto one of the 8 possible fields (front, behind, left, right as well as 4 diagonal fields). The next player also takes their turn by moving one of their Knights onto one of 8 possible fields. The game is played in alternating turns of this manner.

When moving, follow these rules:

1. During your turn, you must move one of your Knights on a field to another. You cannot pass your turn.
2. You cannot move a Knight onto a field that is already occupied by another Knight of yours.
3. You are not allowed to move a Knight onto your own Goal Token fields.
4. You are not allowed to move a Knight on your opponent's Goal Token field if the Duty Token number on the Knight does not match.
5. If you move your Knight to a field where an enemy Knight is placed, they fight.

Fight

If there is a fight, reveal both of the involved Knights' Duty Tokens and compare them with each other. Depending on the numbers of the Duty Tokens, the following rules apply:

1. If the numbers are the same, the attacking Knight wins. The defeated Knight leaves the Game Board.

2. If the numbers are different and it isn't a special situation, the Knight with the higher number wins, and the defeated Knight leaves the Game Board.

   ※ In these special situations, the winner is decided not by the higher number but by the following rules:

   • If the difference between the numbers is only 1, the Knight with the lower number wins instead of the Knight with the higher number. The defeated Knight leaves the Game Board.
   • If one Knight is a 1 and the other a 9, the Knight with the 1 defeats the 9. The defeated Knight leaves the Game Board.
   • If your Knight's Duty Token is the same number as your Hidden Token, and your Knight fights with the enemy Knight who has the Duty Token number 8, you can reveal your Hidden Token. Your Knight then wins the fight with the enemy Knight bearing the number 8. The defeated Knight leaves the Game Board.

Illustrated examples: fights with a number difference of 1 (3 beats 4); fights between a 1 and a 9 (1 beats 9); fights where the Hidden Token number fights the 8 (2 beats 8).

Summoning

When removing defeated Knights from the Game Board, they are laid down next to the Game Board so that everyone can see their Duty Token and type icon. Then, the defeated player summons one of their Knights from the Waiting Area according to the following rules.

Choose one of the Knights in your Waiting Area and place them on one of the empty fields that have the summoning icon on them. If you have no Knights left in your Waiting Area, skip summoning.

Example of Fighting and Summoning

Maria moved her Knight and attacked one of James' Knights. Both reveal the Duty Token numbers of their Knights to compare: Maria's Knight is a 6, James' Knight is a 7. Since the Knight with the smaller Duty Token number wins in a battle between Knights with a difference of only 1, James' Knight is removed from the Game Board. After this, James summons one of the Knights he had in his Waiting Area.

Modified Rules: Defection

If it is your first time playing Nine Knights, omit this rule. Once you become accustomed to the game later on, you can add this extra rule.

In fights between Knights of the same type (Archer, Warrior, Ranger), the defeated Knight along with its Duty Token defects to the player who won the fight. The defected Knight is put into the Waiting Area of the player who won it over. It can be summoned when a Knight of this player is defeated and leaves the Game Board. If the player who has just won over this enemy Knight has less than 5 Knights on the Game Board, the defected enemy Knight must be summoned immediately.

Although it differs in color, the defected Knight follows the same rules as your original Knights. In fights, it can win over even more enemy Knights, or can be won back by your opponent. They can also be used together with your Hidden Token (see Fight) or win you the game by arriving on a Goal Token field.

Example: Defection

James moves one of his Warrior Knights to fight with a Warrior Knight of Maria. As both Warrior Knights have a Duty Token of 7 and James attacked he wins the fight. Since both Knights were of the Warrior type, Maria's Knight leaves the Game Board and goes in James' Waiting Area since he won it over. As James has less than 5 Knights left on the Game Board, he immediately summons it.

Game End

If one of the following conditions is met, the game ends. Depending on how the game ends, a player wins.

• If one of the players arrives at a Goal Token field with a Knight whose Duty Token has the same number, the game ends. The player who moved the Knight wins.
• If you do not have any more Knights left, your opponent wins.