{"id":1355288,"date":"2025-10-12T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2PYBD6izhB9BkEXg63zAqe"},"modified":"2025-10-12T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T12:00:00","slug":"strategy-roguelike-9-kings-finally-has-9-kings-though-a-new-perk-lets-you-revert-it-to-8-kings-if-nine-kings-proves-too-many","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/strategy-roguelike-9-kings-finally-has-9-kings-though-a-new-perk-lets-you-revert-it-to-8-kings-if-nine-kings-proves-too-many\/","title":{"rendered":"Strategy roguelike 9 Kings finally has 9 kings, though a new perk lets you revert it to 8 kings if nine kings proves too many"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Roguelike strategy 9 Kings certainly played its cards right on its early access debut earlier this year. Developer Sad Socket’s concept of using cards to place and upgrade units and buildings was so compelling that it even convinced deckbuilding sceptic Fraser Brown of the genre’s merits. “Runs are brisk, the mechanics are simple, but there’s actually a whole lot to dig into, he wrote back in August<\/a>. “And honestly, I just love watching my pixel-sized troops going to war.”<\/p>\n

For all its strengths, however, 9 Kings was missing one small feature…nine kings. Up until this week, 9 Kings only had eight kings available to play as, using their unique decks to construct your base and fend off enemy forces. Talk about an embarrassing oversight! If I were making a game called 9 Kings, I would ensure it had the requisite number of monarchs befitting its title from the start!<\/p>\n

Fortunately, as of its most recent update, 9 Kings finally lives up to its name. The final ruler to enter the fight is The King of Time, who Sad Socket describes as “a multidimensional gentleman who travels through the ages in search of more kingdoms to conquer.” Basically, he’s evil Dr Who.<\/p>\n

Naturally, the King of Time’s deck is themed around temporal shenanigans, with cards that variously reward players for being fast or slow. The most crucial component to the King of Time’s playstyle, however, is how it lets you travel through <\/em>time.<\/p>\n

This is facilitated by one particularly powerful-sounding card\u2014the Portal card. “Thanks to the Portal card, you can go to a previous year while keeping your kingdom’s progress, allowing you to relive key events in broken ways,” Sad Socket explains. “Portals are not easy to use, but when you get it right, you’ll be able to stack more building buffs, triggers dozens of diplomacy events in a row [and] get extra royal decrees.”<\/p>\n

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