Nine Men's Morris
Nine Men's Morris is a very old two-player game played on three squares, one inside the next, linked by straight lines. Those lines create 24 points for pieces. Get three of yours in a row along a line and you can pull one enemy piece off the board.
Christopher Müller included it in his PaperGames set, and this page runs that version. Choose black or white against an Easy, Medium or Hard computer, or play face to face with a friend on one phone or laptop.
How to play Nine Men's Morris
Play comes in three phases. First, players take turns setting pieces on empty points, Black first, until each has placed all nine. A status line tells you how many are still in hand.
Then you start moving. Each turn, slide one piece along a line to an empty point next to it. The board has no diagonal lines, so a corner point only links to its two neighbors. Any time a placement or a slide makes a row of three, that is a mill, and you remove one of your opponent's pieces. Highlighted pieces show which ones you may take.
When a player has only three pieces left, those pieces can fly to any empty point on the board. You win once your opponent is down to two pieces, or when they have no legal move on their turn.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place a piece | Tab to the board, arrows to a point, Enter | Click an empty point | Tap an empty point |
| Slide or fly a piece | Enter on your piece, then Enter on the target | Click your piece, then the target | Tap your piece, then the target |
| Remove a piece after a mill | — | Click a highlighted enemy piece | Tap a highlighted enemy piece |
| Show moves, undo or resign | — | Click Moves, Undo or Resign | Tap Moves, Undo or Resign |
Tips
- While placing, favor the middle points of each side. They connect to more neighbors than corners, so your pieces are harder to box in later.
- Aim for a spot that could finish two different mills. Your opponent can only block one of them.
- Set up a piece that can step out of one mill and into another. Each step back and forth removes an enemy piece.
- Rushing for an early mill can leave you blocked. During placement, taking good points often matters more than one capture.
- Be extra careful when your opponent is flying. Any two of their pieces on a line can be completed from anywhere.
If you like Nine Men's Morris, try these
Four in a RowMaking lines to score is shared, as discs drop into seven columns and four across, down or diagonal wins.
CheckersCapturing until the other side runs dry is the long goal here as well, with diagonal jumps and crowned kings.
Questions
Which pieces can I take after making a mill?
You can take any enemy piece that is not part of a mill. If every one of their pieces is in a mill, you may take any of them.
Does reopening a mill count again?
Yes. Breaking a mill and closing it again on a later turn is treated as a fresh mill, so you get to remove another piece each time.
Can I see the moves played so far in Nine Men's Morris?
Yes. The Moves button opens a list of every move in the game. The match itself is also saved in your browser between visits.
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