Nine Men's Morris · Complete guide
Nine Men's Morris: how to play, where it came from, and how to win
Place nine men, line three in a row, and take an enemy man each time you do. A game carved into Roman stone, Viking ships and cathedral cloisters.
Nine Men's Morris is played on a board of 24 points — three nested squares joined by crossbars — and it contains three different games in one sitting.
First you place your nine men, one at a time, on empty points. Then you move them along the lines to adjacent points. And if you are reduced to three men you may fly to any empty point at all, which gives the losing side genuine drawing chances.
Throughout, three men in a row is a mill, and closing one removes an enemy man from the board for good. The tactical heart of the game is the open mill: two mills sharing a man, so that shuttling that one man back and forth closes a mill — and takes a piece — every single turn. Build one that cannot be blocked and the game is over.
It is also one of the most widely distributed games in history, because its board was rarely a board. It was scratched into stone steps, cathedral benches, castle seats and the deck of the Gokstad Viking ship, wherever people sat and waited.
How to play
Place nine men, slide them along the lines, and take an enemy man every time you close a mill — plus the open mill that wins games, and the flying rule that saves them.
Where it comes from
A board scratched into stone across the Roman empire, carved into cathedral cloisters and Viking ships, name-checked by Shakespeare, and solved by computer in 1993.
- Morris boards were usually scratched into stone, which makes the game very hard to date precisely.
- Roman-era boards are found across the empire; the name comes from the Latin merellus, a counter.
- It was everywhere in medieval Europe — cloister benches, castles, and the Gokstad Viking ship.
- Shakespeare refers to the outdoor turf version in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
How to win
Why the placing phase decides most games, how to build the open mill that takes a man every turn, and how to win — or save — the three-man flying endgame.
- The four crossbar midpoints lie on the most lines and connect all three squares — take them early.
- Do not rush a mill during placing; structure and threats matter more than one captured man.
- An open mill — two mills sharing a man — takes an enemy man every turn and usually wins.
- Mobility is a win condition: a player with no legal move loses.
Common questions
Can you take a man from a mill?
No, not while your opponent has any man outside a mill. If all of their men are in mills, you may take any of them.
What is an open mill?
Two mills sharing one man, arranged so that moving that man breaks one mill and closes the other. It removes an enemy man every turn and usually decides the game.
What does flying mean?
A player reduced to three men may move to any empty point rather than an adjacent one. Some traditional rule sets leave it out, which makes falling behind far more serious.
How do you win?
By reducing your opponent to two men, which makes a mill impossible, or by leaving them with no legal move at the start of their turn.
Is the game solved?
Yes — Ralph Gasser proved in 1993 that perfect play by both sides is a draw.
Guides
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