Do you have what it takes to be the King of Kings? Hooded Horse and developer Sad Socket’s roguelite auto-battling strategy game will throw you into fight after fight, testing your strategic prowess until you either win or die trying. If you pick the right combos, you might even get the secret third option by completely breaking the game!

At first glance, 9 Kings is simple – every round, play a card from your hand to your 3×3 board, and then fight a battle. If you win, you get to pick a new card as spoils, and then you repeat until you win, or you lose. But that’s only the tip of this regal iceberg.

Take the first step – playing a card. Do you place a new troop or building down to expand your capabilities, or do you play a duplicate on an existing space to enhance its abilities? If you’re placing a new card, where do you place it? Over in the corner will leave you room for other combinations further down the line, but placing it right next to your Keep might make it more powerful. 

But what about picking a card as a reward? Do you take something that offers a short-term gain that’s easier to secure, or try setting yourself up for a better combo further down the line? One risks hampering your power scaling as you grind through your opponents, but the other could easily fall apart if you don’t pull the right cards.

The depth of strategy in these simple decisions will unravel quickly as you play, and we haven’t even gotten to the bits about board expansion, perks, and the random quests that can pop up from time to time

Thanks to the automated system – you don’t really have to think about the battles – your forces will march out of your Kingdom and fight whoever has dared challenge you this time around, and clash according to their specific role or ability. Pixel minions will clash, numbers will go brrrr, and with any luck, your forces will be the ones left standing. Don’t fear a pyrrhic victory – thanks to the magic of game design, everything resets and everyone regenerates between rounds. Handy, right?

The troops and buildings in the game are all tied to a specific King, with each of the 9 kings having nine cards of their own, with a dozen “special” cards. Whether you’re fielding the hulking grey siege engines of the King of Stone, the demonic red minions of the King of Blood, or the glistening gold legions of the King of Greed, each faction has a distinct look about them. As you claim cards from other Kings through victory, your army’s makeup will change over time.

9 Kings is launching into Game Preview, but it’s already benefited from a lot of updates in response to player feedback, and the developers recently released the eighth king – the King of Nomads. If you like dragons, adapting strategies on the fly, and consider yourself a long-lost descendant of the great Khans of old, then we have some fantastic news. Once you’ve gotten a taste of how the game works (and met the unique unlock criteria), the King of Nomads’ troop-focused deck is a great way to step outside your comfort zone and try out new ways to play.

So, what are you waiting for? Check out 9 Kings via PC Game Pass today, and see if you have what it takes to become the King of Kings.