# Rules of Nine
Nikola Jović, 2026
## Introduction
Nine is a popular Russian card game, the goal of which is to get rid of all your cards as fast as possible, while building up sequences of suits.

## Deal
Nine uses a 36 cards deck, from which 5s, 4s, 3s and 2s have been removed. The card ranking, in descending order is as follows:
- Six,
- Seven,
- Eight,
- Nine,
- Ten,
- Jack,
- Queen,
- King,
- Ace.

Nine can be played by 2, 3, 4 or 6 people, and card deal is as follows:
- 2 players: 18 cards for each.
- 3 players: 12 cards for each.
- 4 players: 9 cards for each.
- 6 players: 6 cards for each.

## Turns
The game of Nine always starts with the nine of clubs. The player having this card takes the first turn by putting it on the table and starting the very first suit sequence of clubs.

On their turn, each player can do one of the following:

- Start a new sequence: A sequence always starts with a nine, if the player has a nine, they can play it to begin building up the sequence of that suit.
- Extend a sequence already on the table: A sequence can be extended by playing either a card of one rank lower, or one rank higher. For example, at the beginning of the game, the clubs sequence can be extended either with the eight of clubs, or the ten of clubs.
- If, and only if both of these options are unavailable, that player will skip their turn. If there are any possibilities to play, skipping isn't allowed.

## Winning
If a player has no more cards in their hand, they are declared the winner. At the end of the game, you will see how many cards all other players had in their hands, in the form of points (1 point=1 card).

## Tips
- Try to anticipate what other players have and cause them to skip their turn in order to gain an advantage.
- Try to avoid leaving yourself with only one playable move, keep multiple options open as long as you can.