Gamehelpboardnine

CONTENTS

• 54 cards numbered from 0 to 13.
• There are 4 cards of each value but only 2 cards with the value 0.

THE AIM

To score the least number of points in each round.

SET UP

• One person shuffles the deck, then deals 5 cards face down to each player.
• The remaining cards are placed in a pile, still face down.
• The top card is discarded, face up.
• The player on the dealer’s left begins the game, and play continues clockwise.

HOW TO PLAY

When it is their turn, the player chooses the card(s) they want to get rid of from their hand.

1. But they must either draw a card from the draw pile (face down) or take one from the discard pile (face up) and place it in front of them.
2. They place their unwanted card(s) on the discard pile, in ascending order if it is a sequence.
3. They then add the card in front of them to their hand, and it is the next player's turn.

To get rid of several cards:

• When a player has 2, 3 or 4 identical cards, they can discard them all at once.
• When a player has a sequence of 5 cards, they can discard them all at once.
  • Note: The 0 point card cannot be used as part of a sequence.

IMPORTANT: When a player draws a card of the same value as the one they have just discarded, they may discard it directly, before the next person plays. If the player has no cards left in their hand, they must wait until their next turn to declare “NINE”. They will then have a score of zero.

DECLARING "NINE"

When one of the players has the total of the cards in their hand less than or equal to 9, they can declare "NINE"!

• Timing: You can only declare "NINE" at the beginning of your turn, before playing.
• Resolution: The round ends immediately. All players reveal their cards.
• Scoring the Declaration:
  • If the player who declared "NINE" has the lowest score (or is tied for lowest), they score 0 points. All other players score the sum of their cards.
  • If another player has the same score or less than the player who declared "NINE", the declarer scores 25 points (penalty) and all other players score 0 points.

PLEASE NOTE: You cannot declare "NINE" in the first round.

END OF THE GAME

The game ends when one of the players has reached or exceeded 99 points, at which point they lose the game.

• Special Rule: If a player scores exactly 90 points, their score is reduced to 45 points and the game continues.