## ABOUT THIS GAME
Run of the Nine is a serene but tense Sudoku roguelike journey through five stylized Japanese garden spaces.
Step onto the branching gravel paths of Zen gardens, seek quiet wisdom, and face the guardian spirits of the thresholds. In this journey, every solved Sudoku board is a deeper step into a Kyoto-inspired landscape of raked sand, mossy stones, and quiet waters. But do not let the tranquil scenery deceive you—underneath the elegance lies a game of strict mechanical pressure, where every mistake chips away at your vitality, and your pencilmarks are finite.
Will you complete the offering at the summit, or will the garden reclaim your spirit?
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### KEY FEATURES
- A Roguelike Sudoku Journey: Navigate through 5 distinct garden floors, deciding between Calm or Risk routes. Encounter branching paths filled with standard puzzles, shrines with relic choices, cursed altars, merchant shops, rest areas, and high-intensity Elite nodes.
- Progressive Board Evolution: Face boards that evolve in real-time. Puzzles scale from compact 5x5 boards on Floor 1 all the way up to complex 9x9 layouts on Floor 5. Swap between standard grids, alternate rectangular boxes, and highly irregular Jigsaw/Irregular templates.
- 8 Playable Classes with Unique Passives: Unlock and level up different tactical archetypes, each bringing their own HP pool, starting pencilmarks, relic slots, and powerful passive traits to change how you approach the grid.
- Risk-Reward Stacking & Cursed Altars: Accept voluntary curses at dark altars for massive score/gold payouts—or play safe. Face up to 5 modifier constraints simultaneously at boss gates where you select your path's difficulty.
- Calm Aesthetics, Tense Rules: Enjoy a beautifully minimal, high-frame-rate pixel art landscape with looping ambient effects (drifting bamboo petals, lantern glows, water ripples) and a synthesis-built atmospheric soundtrack—contrasted with a strict combo-streak scoring system that resets the moment you slip up.
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### THE SCENIC PATHS YOU WILL WALK...
- Floor 1: Bamboo Courtyard — Tread upon raked sand and pass through bamboo gates with patient, meditative opening puzzles.
- Floor 2: Moss Garden— Seek reflection beside quiet koi ponds where water ripples match the peaceful rhythm of your solves.
- Floor 3: Koi Terrace— Cross ancient wooden bridges over bottomless black waters mirroring structural patterns.
- Floor 4: Stone Lantern Walk — Feel the thermal crimson glow of autumn lanterns as tactical pressure mounts.
- Floor 5: Shrine Summit — Transcend the mists and make your final offering to the ancient summit spirit guardian.
