Metadata-Version: 2.4
Name: plate9
Version: 1.0.0
Summary: Plate9: a first-person game of memory, wagers and gold plates at The Ninth Ember
Keywords: plate9,card-game,memory,strategy,science-fiction,pyside6
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3
Classifier: Topic :: Games/Entertainment
Classifier: Environment :: X11 Applications :: Qt
Classifier: Operating System :: Microsoft :: Windows
Requires-Python: <3.14,>=3.11
Description-Content-Type: text/markdown
Requires-Dist: PySide6<7,>=6.8
Requires-Dist: numpy<3,>=2.3.5
Requires-Dist: numba<1,>=0.63.1

![Plate9 gameplay at The Ninth Ember, with Varek Sorn and Astra](https://res.cloudinary.com/vppzdwxg/image/upload/v1791292596/Plate9-Gameplay-Varek-Astra.jpg)

# Plate9 — The Ninth Ember

**Version 1.0.0 · A first-person card game of memory, wagers, and patient decisions.**

Take your seat at The Ninth Ember, a club overlooking the traffic of a galactic spaceport. Across the table sit two travelers with different habits, different strengths, and nine cards of their own. A neutral dealer keeps the game moving. What you remember, what you reveal, and what you are willing to risk shape every round.

Plate9 combines a concealed 3 × 3 card board with betting, persistent gold plates, and carefully timed reveals. Win the pot, develop your board, and work toward the ninth lock that gives the game its name.

Plate9 includes an **advanced version of Ting Reasoner (0.10.0a21)**, bundled directly with the game. **NumPy and Numba are required** for its numerical runtime and are installed automatically during a standard pip installation. No separate Ting download is needed.

## A place to settle in

The table is built for a seated, first-person view: character portraits across the felt, clear credit panels, purpose-built card artwork, and a full-screen guest gallery. Slow lighting, gentle portrait motion, card animations, ambient sound, and restrained effects give the room its pace.

Inspect either opponent's public board through the small cards icon in their nameplate. The expanded row makes exposed cards easier to read while keeping concealed cards covered. A short win-or-tie summary beside the title crest carries the last result into the next hand.

Use the table menu to adjust sound, reduce motion, or focus the view on the table. Once the memory window closes, ordinary decisions have no turn timer. There is time to think.

## Your first round

A standard table has three players: you and two computer opponents. Each seat begins with **200 credits**, and each round starts with a **one-credit ante**.

1. **Remember your board.** Study and arrange your nine ordinary cards during the opening 30-second memory window. When it closes, their positions stay fixed and their faces are concealed.
2. **Place your incoming card.** Privately inspect the new card, choose a playable slot, and commit it face down over the card already there. You cannot peek at it again after committing.
3. **Decide the price.** Check, raise, call, or fold as the legal choices allow. Accepted side challenges add a separate wager on whether another player's committed play will match.
4. **Reveal or Stay.** Reveal your current play, or choose a legal Stay over an open gold plate. The dealer resolves eligible hands, challenges, and any special showdown.
5. **Build your position.** Credits settle, ordinary rank matches become gold plates, and qualifying gold-plate victories can earn locks. Then the action marker moves and the next round begins.

Matches use **rank, not suit**. A pair beats a high card; within either category, the higher rank wins. A triple is possible during a draft showdown and outranks a pair. Equal highest eligible hands split the pot.

An ordinary match can improve your board even when you lose the pot. If you remember a seven beneath your incoming seven, that revealed pair becomes a face-up gold plate even if another player wins with Kings.

## Gold plates, Stays, and the ninth lock

Gold changes what you can plan. An open gold plate is visible, and a legal **Stay** preserves a regular card over it face down. Held cards remain protected until the rules allow them to reveal. Keeping a strong possibility concealed also occupies a slot you might need later.

A **tie takeover** lets a qualifying higher gold pair challenge two opponents' tied pairs. When all three current plays legally Stay, a **draft showdown** introduces a separate dealer comparison card and the possibility of a triple. Draft losses can require an additional payment reserved before the showdown.

After every eight completed rounds, the **Trip** renews the cycle. When locked counts qualify, it offers an additional memory challenge. Eligible gold plates can also be exchanged for ordinary cards, giving you another way to reshape your position.

There are two board milestones:

- **Catch:** all nine slots have become gold plates.
- **Plate9:** all nine gold plates are locked. Final obligations settle, the achievement is recorded, and a fresh game begins.

The illustrated in-game guide explains the exact Stay, challenge, lock, draft, and Trip conditions with worked card examples.

## Choose your company

All **32 guests** are available from the start. Open the left guest rail, choose a seat, and explore two rows of portraits by dragging, scrolling, or using the gallery controls. Each profile includes a biography, a playing style, and horizontal bars for **Logic, Recall, Patience, and Pressure**.

| Class | Guests | Character of play |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| Guard | 10 | Approachable opponents with varied recall, caution, and appetite for risk. |
| Veteran | 10 | More experienced play, stronger observation, and persistent pressure. |
| Super | 8 | Careful prices, deliberate uncertainty, and disciplined counterplay. |
| Emperor | 4 | The deepest probability sampling and most consistent logical play. |

Meet **Varek Sorn**, the unlisted sovereign behind lightly smoked glasses; **Gus Perrin**, an unusually patient courier with a cigar; and **Astra**, the white-and-black android whose courtesy accompanies formidable reasoning. Astra's profile carries the credit **Co-Creator of Staqtapp-TDS MC**.

Opponent choices respond to remembered cards, public actions, available credits, and uncertainty. Their profile bars describe configured tendencies. Every opponent uses the same legal information limits: concealed opposing cards and future deck order stay hidden.

You can change guests during a table. The arriving guest inherits the seat's cards and funded obligations; choose its existing free credits or a fresh 200-credit stack at the next hand boundary. A changed-lineup table keeps normal play rewards but does not change your skill rating or award Astra's Respect.

## Build a club record

Your local career records **XP, career levels, skill rating, badges, and club chips**. Milestones include your first gold plate, successful Trip recall, qualifying locks, Catch, Plate9, and a completed-table victory over Astra.

Club chips unlock card finishes such as Aurora Teal, Obsidian Pearl, and Imperial Violet. They belong to your career wallet and do not fund table wagers. Career rewards bank when a table reaches its natural ending; unfinished progress remains pending when you save.

Closing the game saves the table, committed wagers, and retained opponent observations. Return to the same position and resume when ready.

## Learn from your seat

Press **F1** for the illustrated HTML player guide, included with the game and available offline. Its card examples explain the round sequence and the unusual situations that make Plate9 rewarding to learn.

| Control | Action |
| --- | --- |
| C | Open the guest gallery. |
| R | Open your career record. |
| F1 | Open the illustrated player guide. |
| Ctrl + Space | Pause or resume the table. |
| M | Toggle sound. |
| F8 | Open the table menu. |
| F | Switch between room and table focus. |

Opening the guide or guest gallery pauses play. Resume explicitly when you return. During memory study, pausing covers your cards and preserves the remaining viewing time.

## Install and play

Use **64-bit Python 3.11, 3.12, or 3.13**. The desktop application uses PySide6, NumPy, and Numba; a normal installation installs its declared dependencies.

On Windows, install and launch with the same Python:

```powershell
py -m pip install --upgrade plate9
py -m plate9
```

For an offline wheel installation where the required libraries are already installed:

```powershell
py -m pip install --no-index --force-reinstall --no-deps .\plate9-1.0.0-py3-none-any.whl
py -m plate9
```

To check the installed libraries, bundled files, numerical execution, and opponent workers:

```powershell
py -m plate9 --check
```

**Ting Reasoner is included.** Each guest has a dedicated Ting rule program, supported by Plate9's memory and probability models. Two independent opponent worker processes keep decision work separate from the interface. Play runs locally, with no account, API key, or separate Ting download required.
