How to play
Finish Nines when the deck is removed through the permitted numeric and court combinations while every reserve continues to satisfy its rank restriction. Completion is checked from the entire position, not from a displayed answer or a visual approximation.
- Read the opening of Nines by locating every lane, clue, reserve, room, or fixed element named in its rule. A three-by-three grid removes number pairs totalling nine, single Nines, or unlike court cards; four court reserves may not contain duplicate ranks. The seeded deal and rules version reproduce that public starting information without exposing a hidden completion.
- Check each proposed action against the current position and this boundary: A three-by-three grid removes number pairs totalling nine, single Nines, or unlike court cards; four court reserves may not contain duplicate ranks. Illegal, stale, and post-finish actions are rejected without changing the board.
- Finish Nines when the deck is removed through the permitted numeric and court combinations while every reserve continues to satisfy its rank restriction. Completion is checked from the entire position, not from a displayed answer or a visual approximation.
Strategy tips
- Keep flexible low and high number cards exposed for sum-nine pairs, while reserving unlike court combinations for moments when the court reserves approach duplication.
- Parking a duplicate court rank in the four reserves is illegal, and spending a flexible number pair too soon can leave an unmatched numeric card with no exit.
- During the final few decisions, compare every unresolved obligation with the target: the deck is removed through the permitted numeric and court combinations while every reserve continues to satisfy its rank restriction. Keep the option described in the strategy note available until the last forced dependency is settled.