Lore · Playable chronicle

9 Kingdoms Solitaire

A court of philosophies. A field of guarded power. One player against the whole hierarchy.

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Origin of the game

A deck of cards became a world.

Conceived during confinement, when ordinary solitaire had exhausted its mystery, 9 Kingdoms began as an act of invention: nine columns became realms, exposed cards became Thrones, and every move acquired rank, allegiance, and consequence.

This Lore Edition is the first playable record of that idea. It preserves the original 14-suit, 14-rank court while making the still-open rules visible and testable rather than pretending they were always settled.

Kingdoms
9
Philosophic suits
14
Ranks per court
14
Unique figures
196
01

Nine Kingdoms

Nine columns hold twenty-one cards each. Their exposed cards are Thrones; the top two form a Court, and the top three a Castle.

02

A living hierarchy

Every card is a person rather than a number: Gentry rise through Noble rank into a Royal court.

03

Field before hand

The seven-card reserve waits while a Kingdom can unveil a new figure or complete a required Royal arrangement.

04

Order from upheaval

Guarding, arrangements, invasions, Chapel, and Graveyard turn solitaire into a story of power and consequence.

Playable lore · Prototype chronicle

The Nine Kingdoms

Unveil a 196-card court. The field speaks before the hand.

Field before hand

Move a higher exposed card only when leaving its Kingdom unveils a new figure or creates a Royal arrangement.

34 / 196 unveiled
31 legal moves0 turns7 in hand
Do this now

Try this: move Duke 9 from Kingdom I onto Master 3 in Kingdom II.

  1. 1 Click a Throne marked can move.
  2. 2 Click one of the glowing destinations.
  3. 3 The Court rises and a new Castle card appears.

Nine Kingdoms stand before you. Read the field before touching the hand.

Throne · can moveOnly this card moves
Court · guarded10 · Jester Spirit
Castle · guarded6 · Knight Doctrine
Throne · can moveOnly this card moves
Court · guarded3 · Mistress Order
Castle · guarded14 · King Will
Throne · can moveOnly this card moves
Court · guarded3 · Master Sanctum
Castle · guarded6 · Knight Crescent
Throne · can moveOnly this card moves
Court · guarded9 · Duchess Will
Castle · guarded7 · Baroness Scripture
Throne · can moveOnly this card moves
Court · guarded6 · Knight Gaian
Castle · guarded8 · Lady Arcane
Throne · can moveOnly this card moves
Court · guarded1 · Maiden Arcane
Castle · guarded13 · Queen Arcane
Throne · waitingOnly this card moves
Court · guarded10 · Jester Mystic
Castle · guarded5 · Squire Doctrine
Throne · can moveOnly this card moves
Court · guarded4 · Gentlewoman Will
Castle · guarded4 · Gentleman Void
Throne · can moveOnly this card moves
Court · guarded6 · Knight Order
Castle · guarded1 · Page Sanctum
Reserve

The seven-card hand

Sealed while the field can progress.

Lore Edition · Rules prototype 0.1

This first implementation resolves the original open questions with a transparent playable ruleset. Future chronicles can refine Court, Castle, Chapel, and Jester powers without erasing this record.

The complete court · living gallery

Fourteen traditions. One hierarchy.

The suits are symbolic courts, not a judgment that one worldview outranks another. Rank governs the game; every figure you encounter becomes part of your permanent gallery on this device.

Your unveiled court34 / 196 collected

Cards unlock when they first appear in your hand, Court, Castle, or Throne. New deals can reveal figures you have never encountered.

17%
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Every symbolic court

The figures you have encountered across all fourteen traditions, gathered into one living court.

34 figures discovered

Gentry

  1. 1Page / Maiden
  2. 2Apprentice / Acolyte
  3. 3Master / Mistress
  4. 4Gentleman / Gentlewoman
  5. 5Squire

Noble

  1. 6Knight
  2. 7Baron / Baroness
  3. 8Lord / Lady
  4. 9Duke / Duchess

Royal

  1. 10Jester
  2. 11Princess
  3. 12Prince
  4. 13Queen
  5. 14King