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Trick-taking with a twist: you know what suits your opponents are holding!
In 9 Lives, you'll bet on how many tricks you can win. Can you use the extra information to your advantage?
$19
9 Lives - $19
Trick Taking With Visible Suits
Have you ever heard the myth about cats having nine lives? In this trick-taking game you’ll put that to the test. Each round, you’ll bet how many tricks you can win. Are you confident you'll win four hands? Or, do you think you'll be able to sneak one win and tank the other hands?
Be careful, because every victory will add a card back into your hand! Can you outwit the other players and earn nine lives before they do?
Strategy
No Bad Hands
9 Lives builds on the rich trick-taking foundation (Spades, Heart, etc), but then turns it sideways.
1. The backs of the cards show what suit they are. It REALLY affects the way you plan a trick taker when you know what suits people have.
2. You take a card from that trick into your hand, after you win said trick. You'll want plenty of plays to understand all the strategies this unlocks.
3. There aren’t any “bad” hands. As long as you can predict how many tricks you are going to take, you can score.
3. There aren’t any “bad” hands. As long as you can predict how many tricks you are going to take, you can score.
Game Overview
1. Make Your Bid
After the cards are dealt, look at your cards AND around the table to see what suits your opponents have. Will you call your shot and confidently bet on a specific number of won tricks? Or, will you hedge your bets? You’ll have a better chance at scoring, but gain less points if you do.
2. Play Out Hands
All players play cards in-turn. Don’t forget about the trump cards and your goals! There are no bad hands in 9 Lives–in fact, you’ll often want to “lose” hands to make sure you hit your bet!
3. Score (Or Lose Lives!)
If you hit your soft bid, gain two points. If you called your shot perfectly, gain four points! Didn't match your prediction? Lose points equal to how much you missed it by!
4. First to 9 Lives Wins!
Did you play it safe, or go for glory? The fact that you can't get negative points causes some players to play very confidently!
Components
What's inside the box
Box dimensions are 6.75 inches wide x 10.75 inches tall x 2.25 inches deep
- A36 Cards (1-9 in 4 Suits)
- B4 Cat Tokens
- C4 Score Track Cubes
- D4 Trick Tracking Cubes
- E1 Score Track
- F1 Start Player Token
- G1 Prediction Rug
- H4 Player Reference Tokens
Cat Cards
9 Lives' color-backed cards mean that your opponents can see the suits you have!
Prediction Rug And Cat Tokens
Bet on how many tricks you'll win on the betting board. Don't forget that you can loop around!
The Upgrade
Chonky cats
Giant wood cat meeples! They're extra chonky, extra adorable, and extra unique. We're not saying get this game only for the meeples, but we're also not not saying that.
Even better, they are a functional part of the game as they are the key component you interact with as you place your bets.
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The brains behind the game
Creators
Taiki Shinzawa
Designer
Taiki has been living and working in Tokyo designing original and unique board games since 2011. He enjoys origami and puzzles which has lead to a fascination with trick-taking games.
Chris Smith
Artist
Chris is also known as Quarternative. His progression as an artist has evolved through the mediums of pen and ink, watercolor, and gouache, until I figured out how to use the magical box called the computer. I have been specializing in vector designs since.
Click to download
Helpful resources
9 Lives
5" x 5" x 2"
8.5oz
GME-9L
618149322916
$20