![]() Strategy in Nine Men's Morris The first phase of a nine men's morris game is just as important as the second, possibly more so. The game is also over if a player is trapped so that he cannot move at all his opponent is likewise declared the winner. The game is over when one player is reduced to two pieces, making it impossible for him to form a mill. A mill left idle, therefore, does not guarantee an automatic capture every subsequent turn.ġ0. To use the mill again, its owner must break it and reform it on subsequent turns. Only a newly made mill entitles a player to capture a piece. If all of the opponent's pieces are forming a mill, then no capture is made.ĩ. Any opponent's piece may be captured which is not itself part of a mill.Ĩ. A player who forms a new mill is entitled, or in fact obliged, to take one of his opponent's pieces as a capture. A row of three pieces of the same colour, along a marked line, is called a mill.ħ. A player reduced to three pieces may instead move one of his pieces from its point to any other vacant point on the board.Ħ. A player may move one of his pieces from its point, along a marked line, to the next point, if that point is vacant. White follows, play alternating until the game is over.Ĥ. After all pieces have been placed, the black player begins the second phase of the game, in which pieces may move around the board. Play then progresses to the second phase.ģ. White follows suit, and play alternates in this way until both players have placed their pieces. Black starts the first phase of the game by placing a black piece on any vacant point. Each player has his own colour, and holds nine pieces of that in his hand.Ģ. Nine mens morris is played on the board illustrated, which starts empty of pieces. Rule 5 is perhaps the only contentious one, not being universal, and it does not affect the game greatly, but it gives some hope for that player who is lagging behind his opponent.ġ. Rules for Nine Men's Morris The rules of the game have undergone remarkably little change since they were first recorded. But the game is fondly remembered today, and it often makes it appearance in those more adventurous games compendia that look beyond chess and backgammon. In the renaissance it was taken with the settlers to the Americas, and there the natives adopted it as their own.īefore Nine Mens Morris could complete its domination of all the inhabited continents of the world, its popularity declined. It was the game of choice for many, particularly bored monks and priests, who carved its board into the stones and seats of their magnificent abbeys and cathedrals. From the stones of ancient Kurna in Egypt, to the stone- or bronze-age burial sites of Cr Bri Chualann, in County Wicklow in Ireland, the pattern for the board has been found in many ancient contexts.īy mediaeval times it had spread far across the three continents of the old world. History of Nine Men's Morris The game of nine mens morris is so ancient that we do not know its origin. The aim of the game is to reduce the opponent to two pieces, rendering them unable to form any more mills. When all pieces are placed, they slide from one position to another, still trying to form mills and capture enemy pieces. ![]() The board starts empty, and players place their pieces in turn forming a row of three allows the removal of an enemy piece. The rows of three, called "mills", are not the main aim of the game, they are a means to an end. For each game there is an entertaining history, full rules, and a discussion of strategy, all in more detail than you'll see on this site. That volume, available as a hardback or paperback, covers twelve games in depth. This game is featured in A Book of Historic Board Games, by Damian Gareth Walker. Featured in A Book of Historic Board Games It has been described as "noughts and crosses for adults", as it shares the simpler game's aim for forming rows of three, but weaves that aim into a much more sophisticated game of wits. Nine men's morris is a classic game of pure strategy. Nine Men's Morris | Cyningstan Cyningstan
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