Category: Nine Muses

After working through several playtests and toying with digital platforms, I’ve updated Nine Muses with new rules and it’s now available on playingcards.io!

• Rules
• PNP Files
• Playincards.io room

Version 1.0 of Nine Muses is here!

I’ve only been able to playtest this against myself, so I’m looking for feedback from others on the general gameplay, tension, and fun in this.

I have some sample art. This is WIP as well as I’m still experimenting with an art style, so it’s subject to change!

One open mechanics question: How do I make muses being called to you—specifically the Knowledge “locking” mechanic—more dynamic while maintaining balance?

Right now, you drop Knowledge (resources) on a muse to “purchase” them. This gives you an advantage in the action economy AND a stable action—you don’t have to draft that muse anymore and worry about it being taken. A part of this process is that you place Knowledge on the Muse Card and it stays there, locked. This allows you to keep resources safe for a higher end game score. The issue I’m seeing, though, is your Muse is worth the same amount regardless: the VP on the card + resources “locked” on the card. I’ve got to think through this a bit more…

I’ve been designing Nine Muses for a couple of weeks and have found a general flow and tension in the gameplay. Right now, I’m working through some design problems:
• How many victory points should muses be worth?
• I’m trying to figure out how “owned” knowledge vs “unowned” knowledge works. In a 4-player game, there is no shared bank as every player gets a piece of all of the knowledge. This equates to 1 ethics (green meeple), 2 science (blue cube), 3 craft (gold coins) per player. It works out really well. HOWEVER, in 2- and 3-player games, I don’t know what to do with the excess. The game relies on forcing knowledge exchanges with other players but in those games I’m thinking of forcing the knowledge exchanges with a shared bank. I’m just worried it won’t be as fun.