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Board.game Original

Nine Below

Social deduction under the ice

5–8 players20–35 minHidden rolesLight

Nine of you came down. The station only has power for eight.

PlayPlayable

Ready to play now.

A demonstration of Nine Below, played by the computer against itself.

Nine Below — playing itself

Ways to play

  • Alone, against the computer

    Your own pace, no arranging anything. Take a move back whenever you like.

    5 opponents, weakest first
    • DrowsyNames people almost at random, and often the wrong one.
    • WatchfulReads the ledger, and votes on what it finds.
    • SuspiciousWants real evidence before it names anybody.
    • SharpAs one of The Ninth, never goes back to a module the ledger has already blamed it for.
    • Cold-eyedNames nobody it is not sure of, and is usually sure.
    Play alone
  • Together, in the same room

    5–8 players. One device goes round the table, or everybody plays off the same screen.

    Play in the same room
  • Online, at a table

    A room code, joinable from anywhere. Pause tonight and pick it up next week from your device.

    Play online

About

A research station four hundred metres under an ice shelf, and a rota that no longer adds up. Every watch you pick a module and a job, nobody says what they chose, and at dawn the ledger publishes exactly who was where and exactly what the heat did — and never who did what.

How it feels

  • Accusations over dinner
  • Arithmetic you can argue with
  • Nobody is above suspicion

What the design is for

  • Roles with jobs

    Everyone has real work to do, which is excellent cover.

  • A ledger, not a memory

    Who was in each module and what the heat did, in writing, permanently. The one thing it never records is intent.

  • Two or three of you

    From seven people up there are three of The Ninth; at five and six there are two, and they know each other. Seven is the hard table — over eighty measured matches the Crew take it 35% of the time, and no width of station measures better.

Best at
6
Kind
Social Deduction
Table
Hidden roles
Studio
Board.game Originals

The opponents

  1. Drowsy

    Names people almost at random, and often the wrong one.

  2. Watchful

    Reads the ledger, and votes on what it finds.

  3. Suspicious

    Wants real evidence before it names anybody.

  4. Sharp

    As one of The Ninth, never goes back to a module the ledger has already blamed it for.

  5. Cold-eyed

    Names nobody it is not sure of, and is usually sure.

Achievements

0 of 5 earned

  • Still Warm

    Win a match of Nine Below.

  • The Ninth

    Win as one of The Ninth.

  • Never Named

    Win as one of The Ninth without anybody ever accusing you.

  • Nobody Innocent

    Win as Crew without putting a single innocent person out.

  • It Was Already Cold

    Be alone in a module that lost heat, and survive the watch.

Key art

Concept key art — Board.game art system

Nine Below — key still
Nine Below — key cover
Nine Below — key backdrop
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