Ninelands
First steps
Ninelands is played on a board of nine lands. You place pieces one by one; each piece claims the cells around it and earns gold. The game ends when you cannot place anything anymore. More gold and more ruled lands mean more stars.
Your first move: the castle
Every realm starts with its 
castle. It is free, you get exactly one, and it may stand anywhere except in the moor or on a lake. The castle claims up to 5 cells in each straight direction – across land borders.
Claiming land
The tinted cells are your domain. Two rules follow from it:
- Nobody can build on claimed land – not even you.
- Every new piece must connect to your domain. Only the castle may stand alone.
Lakes stop every claim. Mountains and moor cost double reach, so a claim gets shorter when it runs into them.
Farmers: the backbone
Farmers are free. A farmer must stand right next to your domain, inside the same land, and claims the eight cells around it (only within its own land).
Earning gold
| Where you place a piece | Gold |
|---|---|
| Pasture (green) | +5 |
| Pasture in a land that has a lake | +7 |
| Ore (in the mountains) or herbs (in the moor) | +20 |
| Anything else | 0 |
Knights earn double for everything. Knights cost 10 gold and bishops 15 gold – some laws change that (see Treasures & laws).
Placing pieces
- Mouse: point at a cell to preview, click to place.
- Touch: tap a cell to see its info and the preview, tap again to place.
- Keyboard: arrow keys and Enter, 1–4 to pick a piece, Ctrl+Z to undo.
You may undo your last move. The info bar above the board always tells you why a move is not allowed.
When does the game end?
As soon as no piece fits anywhere, the game is over and your result is counted: your gold, the lands you rule, and the stars you earned on this map.