- BGG rating
- 7.7
The Front Nine: AUGUSTUS, The Emerald Blazer Expansion
- 2–4 players
- 45–75 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 2015
- BGG rank
- BGG #12,877
- BGG rating
- 6.9
The Front Nine
2014
Rules assistance for The Front Nine
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 45 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.1/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for The Front Nine
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Front Nine is a board game released in 2014 for 2–4 players, 45 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Nick Case and its main mechanics are Set Collection, Tile Placement, and Open Drafting.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 5.7
The Front Nine: Slow Play
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2016
- BGG rating
- 7.0
The Front Nine: The Municipal Golf Club
- 2–4 players
- 45–75 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2016
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About the game
The Royal Golf Association are running their annual competition to judge the best new nine hole course of the year. Will you finish all nine holes before the judges carry out their inspection? If not will stunning scenery and design excellence be enough to beat off the opposition? The Front Nine is a card game where players compete to build the best nine hole golf course with a balance of challenging par, scenery and facilities. The course cards depict each hole (pars 3, 4 and 5)and after paying the land and resource cost for trees, water and sand, they are laid on the table to depict the actual layout of the course. Each player develops a course from club house to 1st tee and from green to following tee etc. Each hole has a differing topography which constrains tee access and green exits which results in each player's course snaking across the table. Players must manage their finances carefully to enable their course to generate an income to ensure they can afford the ever increasing land costs and resources required to design and build each hole. The winner is the player whose course design best links back to the club house, has the best design, bunkers, woodland and water hazards and optimizes the use of the natural environment. The Front Nine has direct player interaction and competition and an economic engine with an interesting spatial aspect where careful thought is needed for card purchase and placement.
Designers
Publishers
- (Self-Published)
- A-Muse-Ment
Questions and answers
The Front Nine supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for The Front Nine is 45 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists The Front Nine for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
The Front Nine has a complexity rating of 2.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
The Front Nine belongs to these categories: Card Game, Economic, and Sports. Its main mechanics are Set Collection, Tile Placement, and Open Drafting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of The Front Nine are: Nick Case. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists The Front Nine as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.