The Ninth World: A Skillbuilding Game for Numenera

About this board game

The Ninth World: A Skillbuilding Game for Numenera is an epic card game for 1–5 players, playable competitively, cooperatively, or solo, with games lasting about 60 minutes. Set in the far-future world of Numenera, it sends adventurers into strange kingdoms, dangerous wilderness, and the lands of the Beyond.

Each player takes the role of a Nano, Jack, or Glaive. Characters are defined by an adjective, noun, and verb phrase, creating identities such as a learned nano who rides the lightning. Across the game, these heroes explore one of the nine kingdoms of the Steadfast or venture into even stranger territory.

In a quick five-round game, the characters move from the starting region to the far reaches of a kingdom. A standard game lasts nine rounds, sending them back home on the other side of the region cards. Gameplay is simultaneous, so every round challenges players to decide how to spend their time and compete for the best opportunities.

• Scout the wilderness and discover what lies ahead.
• Tinker with cyphers and oddities.
• Charm allies and build support.
• Combat dangerous creatures.
• Advance skills and strengthen your character.

Each phase offers a choice between the town and the wilderness. The town provides predictable rewards and less dangerous creatures, while the wilderness holds strange cyphers with unpredictable powers and creatures ready to attack. Players then bid against one another for the choicest cards, with every action rewarding victory points.

In cooperative mode, characters work together to defeat creatures and claim relics while the wilderness threatens to destroy the town. In solo mode, one character faces that challenge alone. In The Ninth World, the player with the most points becomes the most legendary adventurer.