How to Play 9K Link Rush

The Board in Ten Seconds

The board is a square of 36 tiles, six across and six down. Each tile shows a number from 1 to 8. Your job is to join tiles into a link whose numbers add up to exactly 9. A finished link clears, the tiles above it slide down to fill the gap, and fresh tiles drop in from the top. That loop repeats until the clock runs out in Rush, or until you press Finish in Calm.

The game belongs to 9K Club, a free arcade at 9kclubs.net. Points are only a score. Nothing is sold, nothing is paid out and you never need an account to play.

Making a Link

1. Press any tile. It turns dark and its number appears in the sum bubble above the board.
2. Slide your finger to a tile that touches the last one: left, right, up, down or any of the four corners. You can also lift your finger and tap the next tile instead; both ways work.
3. Keep going. The sum bubble adds each tile and a gold line draws the path so far.
4. The moment the total reaches exactly 9, the link clears on its own. You never need to press a confirm button.

A tile can be used once per link, and a link needs at least two tiles. Because every tile is 8 or less, no single tile can ever make 9 alone.

Changing your mind

• Slide back onto the previous tile to drop the last step.
• Tap the last tile of the link to remove it.
• Tap an earlier tile in the link to cut the link back to that point.
• Tap a tile that does not touch the end of your link to start a brand-new link from it.

Going over 9

If a step pushes the total past 9, the board gives a short shake, shows “Over 9” and the link is dropped. There is no point penalty. The only cost is the seconds you spent building it, which matters a lot in Rush.

Points for Each Link

Base points rise with the square of the link length: 45 × tiles × (tiles + 1). Long links are worth far more than short ones, which is the single most important rule to remember.

Links of eight or nine tiles are possible (nine 1s would do it) but they are very rare on a real board, so the table stops at seven.

Combos

Clear a link within 2.5 seconds of the one before and a combo begins. Each quick clear moves the multiplier one step: ×1.25, then ×1.5, then ×2, where it stays for as long as you keep the pace. Miss the window once and the next link starts again at ×1. The current multiplier shows as a small chip beside the sum bubble.

Star Tiles

About one tile in twenty-five carries a small gold star in its corner. Any link that includes a star tile scores double, and the doubling stacks with the combo. A four-tile link with a star at ×2 combo is worth 3,600 points on its own.

The Two Modes

A 9K run is any Rush that finishes on 9,000 points or more. Calm scores are shown at the end of the run but do not replace your best, since a run without a clock is not a fair comparison.

A Worked Example

Here is the opening of a typical Rush, step by step:

1. You spot 2, 3 and 4 in a diagonal line and link them: three tiles, 540 points. Score 540.
2. Two seconds later you link 1, 1, 3 and 4 just below. That is inside the combo window, so four tiles at ×1.25: 1,125 points and two bonus seconds. Score 1,665.
3. You pause to look for a long path, the window closes, and you finish with a quick 4 + 5 at ×1: 270 points. Score 1,935.

Three links in about eight seconds put you on pace for well over 9,000. The score tips explain how to keep that pace for a whole minute.

When the Board Has No Links

After every clear the game checks the whole board for at least one path that makes 9. On the rare board where none exists, the tiles are reshuffled into new positions and a short message tells you so. You keep your score, your combo and your time.

What Gets Saved

Your best Rush score, runs played, total links, number of 9K runs and your longest link are stored in this browser only. Clearing site data, using a private window or switching phones starts the record from zero. The privacy policy lists every item and has a button to wipe them.