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. History File:NineMensMorrisTileMycenae.jpgĬlay tile fragment from the archeological museum at Mycenae showing what appears to be a Nine Men's Morris boardĪccording to R. An ideal position, which typically results in a win, allows a player 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.Īt 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.
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" (or "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 can "break" a mill by moving one of his pieces out of an existing mill, then moving it 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 as in phase one. Players continue to alternate moves, this time moving a man to an adjacent point. After all men have been placed, phase two begins. 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 on contiguous points 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. Phase 1: Placing pieces File:Nine Men's Morris board with coordinates, modified.png