STRATEGY TO WIN NINE MENS MORRIS HOW TO
STRATEGY TO WIN NINE MENS MORRIS MANUAL

The game peaked in popularity in medieval England. It is possible that the Romans were introduced to the game via trade routes, but this cannot be proven.Īn old combined Nine Men's Morris and chess table

STRATEGY TO WIN NINE MENS MORRIS HOW TO

It is a bad thing for a woman not to know how to play, for love often comes into being during play.īerger believes the game was 'probably well known by the Romans', as there are many boards on Roman buildings, even though dating them is impossible because the buildings 'have been easily accessible' since they were built. A table has three pieces on either side the winner must get all the pieces in a straight line. 8 CE), after discussing Latrones, a popular board game, Ovid wrote: There is another game divided into as many parts as there are months in the year. One of the earliest mentions of the game may be in Ovid's Ars Amatoria. Berger concludes, 'certainly they cannot be dated.' However, Friedrich Berger writes that some of the diagrams at Kurna include Coptic crosses, making it 'doubtful' that the diagrams date to 1400 BC. Bell, the earliest known board for the game includes diagonal lines and was 'cut into the roofing slabs of the temple at Kurna in Egypt' c. Variants Three Men's MorrisĬlay tile fragment from the archeological museum at Mycenae showing what appears to be a Nine Men's Morris boardĪccording to R. StrategyĪt the beginning of the game, it is more important to place pieces in versatile locations rather than to try to form mills immediately and make the mistake of concentrating one's pieces in one area of the board.Īn ideal position, which typically results in a win, is to be able to shuttle one piece back and forth between two mills, removing a piece every turn. Flying was introduced to compensate when the weaker side is one man away from losing the game.

STRATEGY TO WIN NINE MENS MORRIS MANUAL

A 19th-century games manual calls this the 'truly rustic mode of playing the game'. Some rules sources say this is the way the game is played, some treat it as a variation, and some don't mention it at all. When a player is reduced to three pieces, there is no longer a limitation on that player of moving to only adjacent points: The player's men may 'fly', 'hop', or 'jump' from any point to any vacant point. When one player has been reduced to three men, phase three begins. The act of removing an opponent's man is sometimes called 'pounding' the opponent. A player may 'break' a mill by moving one of his pieces out of an existing mill, then moving the piece back to form the same mill a second time (or any number of times), each time removing one of his opponent's men. Players continue to try to form mills and remove their opponent's pieces in the same manner as in phase one. Players continue to alternate moves, this time moving a man to an adjacent point. Any piece can be chosen for the removal, but a piece not in an opponent's mill must be selected, if possible. If a player is able to place three of his pieces in a straight line, vertically or horizontally, he has formed a mill and may remove one of his opponent's pieces from the board and the game. The players determine who plays first, then take turns placing their men one per play on empty points. Nine Men's Morris starts on an empty board. (optional phase) Moving men to any vacant point when a player has been reduced to three men.A player wins by reducing the opponent to two pieces (where he could no longer form mills and thus be unable to win), or by leaving him without a legal move. Players try to form 'mills' - three of their own men lined horizontally or vertically - allowing a player to remove an opponent's man from the game. Each player has nine pieces, or 'men', usually coloured black and white. The board consists of a grid with twenty-four intersections or points. Three main variants of Nine Men's Morris are Three-, Six- and Twelve-Men's Morris. Nine Men's Morris is a solved game in which either player can force the game into a draw. The game has also been called Cowboy Checkers and is sometimes printed on the back of checkerboards. The game is also known as Nine Man Morris, Mill, Mills, The Mill Game, Merels, Merrills, Merelles, Marelles, Morelles and Ninepenny Marl in English. Nine Men's Morris is a strategy board game for two players that emerged from the Roman Empire. Even if it is Black's turn, White can remove a black piece each time a mill is formed by moving e3-d3 and then back again d3-e3.

Strategy to win nine mens morris