Nine Men's Morris
A free game from Ancient.Games · no wagering, no account
Nine Men's Morris
Roman soldiers scratched this board into temple steps to pass the watch.
Make a mill of three, take one of his.
Nine men each. You set first — go on, pick your ground.
Tap any open point to set a man.
This board is a slice of maple.
We cut it from a kiln-dried log with the bark edge intact, engrave the mills, and seal it. Every one is a different shape, because every tree was.
How it works
You each have nine men. Take turns setting them on any empty point until all eighteen are down.
After that, slide a man along a line to a neighbouring empty point.
Line up three of your own along an engraved line and you've made a mill — take one of his men off the board. You can't take a man that's standing in a mill of his own, unless every man he has left is in one.
Down to three men, you may jump to any empty point instead of sliding. Down to two, or with nowhere left to move, you've lost.
Breaking a mill and re-forming it on the next turn is legal, and it's the strongest thing in the game. Sextus knows this.
Ancient Games · handmade historical boards · ancient.games