9Stax started over 30 years ago during a heavy rainstorm, in a small tent, at the Green River in Eastern Utah.  As the rain fell, we had to wait for clear weather to go fishing and this was one of several game variations we created to pass the time. The rules were basic and, with only 2 people, it took over an hour to complete a game with the 9 stacks concept. It helped to pass the time and when the weather finally changed, my thoughts turned to fly fishing. I didn’t do much with the concept after the trip. Over the years, we talked about how we developed a game that helped us pass the time during the storm but never played it again. A couple of years ago, I remembered the card game from all those years ago and decided that it has a ton of potential and wanted to share it with others.

In the summer of 2021, we began talking about how the game is played and what changes would be necessary to improve the play style. The game concept has gone through many changes and refinements over the past 18 months and our play-testers have generally been very pleased with their experience playing this game. The original version was primarily based on random chance and there were almost no avenues to control the outcome of your own hand.  One of our play testers became frustrated that all he could do was wait to see what surprise was next and hope that somehow he would have a chance to win. Being a fan of more strategic games, he gave us several suggestions about adding strategic elements to the game. We began thinking of new cards which helped to navigate the random aspects and offered players a way to affect the progress of their opponents or to further their own play.  As we worked on it, several goals began to coalesce.

• The game should be played in 30-45 minutes
• Game mechanics should be easy to grasp and not need much review after the first game
• We did not want any of the cards to be pointless, “throw away” cards
• Cards should represent a mix of personal advancement cards and those that delay other players
• Near the end of the game, all players should have a legitimate chance to win the game

Even though there are millions of ways that the cards can be dealt, we feel that 9Stax has accomplished these goals.  Every game is unique, based on how the cards are dealt, but nearly every game ends with all players being in a position to win. In fact, sometimes the very act of slowing a player down, who is about to go out, can deliver the exact card they need to win!

9Stax appeals to people from all ages and we’ve tested it with players from 10 years old to 80 years old. The game is not targeted to a particular genre, age group, niche or theme.  It is just a great game for parties, families, friends, game nights, etc. I am confident that the game will be popular. Probably the most frequent comment we heard from play-testers is “Wow, that was fun!  I think you’ve got something here that people will love!” Next most frequent would be, “Can we play another hand?”