NMBR 9 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Materials
Object of the Game
Set-Up
- Levels
- Squares
Course of the Game
- General Hints
End of the Game
Scoring
Solitaire Game
Credits

Game Materials

80 number tiles 8 each with numbers from "0" to "9"

20 number cards 2 each with numbers from "0" to "9"

Object of the Game

In NMBR 9, each player uses the same number tiles to form his own display. In doing so, he tries to put each tile on a level as high as possible – the higher a number tile is placed, the more points it generates at the end of the game. The player with the most points wins.

Set-Up

Keep the 80 number tiles in the box inlay, sorted by number, easily accessible to all players.

Shuffle the 20 number cards and put them as a face-down draw pile in the middle of the table.

Levels

Any number tile that has been placed directly on the surface of the table during the course of the game is considered to be at the 0th level. When, later on, number tiles are put directly on top of the tiles of the 0th level, they are then at the 1st level, and so on.

Squares

Each number tile is divided into squares. The number of squares of a tile has nothing to do with the number on the tile. The squares just indicate the grid in which additional tiles have to be connected or placed on top.

Course of the Game

The game goes over 20 rounds.

At the beginning of each round, one of the players draws the top number card from the draw pile and announces aloud the number shown; he then puts the card face up on the discard pile.

Now all players take one number tile each with the just-announced number from the box and, at the same time, think of how to place it best in their own display.

In the first round, you simply put the number tile in front of you in any orientation, with the number side facing up. You should leave enough space around this tile for additional tiles you'll place later on.

In general, the following placement rules apply:

The number tile always has to be placed with the number side facing up, but the orientation may be chosen freely.
If you want to put the number tile on a level where at least one other tile is lying, at least one side of a square on this tile has to be adjacent to a square of a tile already laid-out there (pay attention to the grid).
If you want to place the number tile on the 1st level or higher, it has to lie completely on top of squares of the number tiles underneath (pay attention to the grid). Consequently, you are not allowed to place tiles so they protrude or are built over gaps.

In addition, the new number tile has to lie on squares of at least two number tiles underneath. Consequently, it may never lie on only one tile.

Attention: The 2nd placement rule applies to all levels: At least one side of a square of any additional tile to be placed on a level has to be adjacent to a square of a tile already laid-out there.

When all players have placed the number tile in their display, the current round ends and players draw another number card for the next round.

General Hints

A number tile does not have to be placed on the highest level currently possible. You may decide for each tile which level to place it on.
During a round, you may try out different ways to fit the number tile that you are going to put in your display. But once you have made your decision, you may no longer move the tile.
You may take only that tile from the box that has been announced for the current round. You may not use other tiles to try out whether these might be good to add later on.
If one player takes a lot of time placing his tile, the other players may prompt him to place it within the next minute.
Play is creative: If somebody completely copies another player's display, he can never gain more points than the others.

End of the Game

The game ends after the round in which the draw pile has been depleted.

Scoring

Now, beginning with any participant, one player after another scores his display. To this end, he takes the display apart from top to bottom, adding up the points for each number tile and writing down the result, if need be.

The following scoring rule applies:

The number on the tile is multiplied by the level.

Important: This means that the number tiles on the 0th level always score 0 points; they have no value at the scoring.

Example: An "8" on the 2nd level scores 8 x 2 = 16 points.

The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the players involved share the win.

Solitaire Game

NMBR 9 can also be played alone. The same rules apply as in the game with several players. However, the object of the solitaire game is to beat your own record. One hundred points or more is an excellent score.

Credits

Author: Peter Wichmann Illustration: Fiore GmbH English translation: Sybille & Bruce Whitehill, "Word for Wort"