Run calendar for 9 Kings
- Updated
- Game version
- 1.0
- Topic
- Run systems
A standard run lasts 33 years and every year has a battle. The fixed extras are the prophet in year 3, Royal Councils in years 5, 13, 21 and 29, merchants in years 7, 19 and 31 and the final battle in year 33. The war and peace diplomats, three expansion towers and two Jack of Rainbows attacks fill other years; the year track at the top of the screen marks what is coming.
Fixed event years
| Year | Event | What to have ready |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Prophet reveals the blessing | Note the highlighted plots; they need the right card when the blessing resolves |
| 5 | Royal Council | Nothing to spend; pick 1 decree (how the offer works) |
| 7 | Merchant | Gold: the first card costs 30 gold |
| 13 | Royal Council | |
| 19 | Merchant | |
| 21 | Royal Council | |
| 29 | Royal Council | Last council before the final battle |
| 31 | Merchant | Last chance to buy before year 33 |
| 33 | Final battle | Every card in hand must be played or thrown into the pit first |
Patch #18 moved the first council from year 4 to year 5 and the second from 14 to 13, and replaced merchants in years 10, 25 and 31 with three evenly spaced visits. Guides written before November 2025 use the old years.
Diplomats, towers and the Jack of Rainbows
- War diplomat. Adds a new enemy king: you choose one of two offered kings, and re-rolling the pair costs gold. More enemy kings means more card pools to loot from.
- Peace diplomat. Removes one enemy king of two offered. You cannot make peace with the rebels of your own king. Peace with every enemy at once earns Nobel Prize; war with every king at once earns The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Enemy.
- Expansion tower. Unlocks one more outer plot. The kingdom grows from 3×3 to at most 5×5; the Exploration and Wilderness decrees, the Earthworks tome and the Expansionist perk add more. Locked plots can hide treasure chests (Patch #22), opened by unlocking the plot.
- Jack of Rainbows. Attacks twice per run since Patch #18, in place of a regular king. Beating it offers a Rainbow card. See Rainbow and Chaos cards.
Blessings
The prophet shows one blessing and highlights its target plots. When the blessing year arrives, each highlighted plot that holds a suitable card receives the effect; Prosperity has no plots and checks your gold instead. 1.0 added Cornucopia and Reclamation, for nine blessings in total.
Blessing list
| Blessing | Effect in the blessing year |
|---|---|
| Baby Boom | Doubles the units of a troop on each target plot (2 plots) |
| Peacetime | Doubles the HP of the card on each target plot (2 plots) |
| Zenith | Doubles the damage of the card on each target plot (2 plots) |
| Illuminism | Levels up the card on each target plot (3 plots) |
| Feudalism | Each target plot that is empty gives you a card of your king (3 plots) |
| Hegemony | Copies the cards on the target plots into your hand (2 plots) |
| Prosperity | With 30 gold or less, multiplies your gold by 9 |
| Cornucopia (1.0) | Duplicates every card of your own king in your hand |
| Reclamation (1.0) | Gives one copy of each card thrown into the pit by the blessing year |
The Holy universal perk doubles the blessing effect. The 1.0 achievement Cursed asks you to miss a blessing completely.
After year 33
Winning the final battle lets you continue in Endless mode. From year 34 the Jack of Chaos joins your enemies with 15 Chaos tomes and Chaos decrees enter the councils. Champions of Chaos wait in years 66 and 99. Year 99 is the true ending: beating it shows a final results screen and no further experience is earned, though you may keep playing. Die Hard asks you to survive to year 99.
The King of Time can move the calendar backwards with Portal, replaying councils, merchants and Rainbow fights.
Sources
- Patch #18 notes, calendar improvementsProphet in year 3, merchants every 12 years from year 7, decrees every 8 years from year 5, two rainbow events.
- Patch #21 notes, Endless modeJack of Chaos from year 34, Chaos decrees after year 33, Champions of Chaos in years 66 and 99.
- Patch #30 notes, year 99 flowYear 99 is the true ending; no experience after it.
- 9 Kings official wiki, EventsWhat the diplomat, tower and prophet events do.
- 9 Kings official wiki, BlessingsBlessing targets are highlighted plots that must hold a suitable card by the blessing year.
Related
Royal Council and decrees in 9 KingsHow a Royal Council builds its decree offer in 9 Kings 1.0: the four decree pools, pick limits, re-rolls, the perks and decrees that add choices, and decrees that change the next council.
Gold, merchants, re-rolls and the pit in 9 KingsWhere gold comes from in 9 Kings 1.0, what merchant cards and re-rolls cost, how the pit (well) works, and the Greed cards, decrees and perks that change those numbers.
Rainbow and Chaos cards: Jack of Rainbows and Jack of ChaosHow to get the 36 Rainbow cards and 15 Chaos cards in 9 Kings 1.0, when the Jack of Rainbows and Jack of Chaos attack, and what each special card does.
King of Time: Amplifier, Portal, Regression and RewindHow the King of Time's Amplifier passes buffs to neighbours, which support effects it copies, how Portal time travel replays years, and what Regression, Rewind and the 1.0 decrees Power Grid and Debris do.