How to Play Nine Men's Morris
Nine Men's Morris is a classic two-player abstract strategy board game dating back to the Roman Empire. Form mills, three pieces in a row, to remove your opponent's pieces. The player who reduces their opponent to two pieces or blocks all their moves wins. This ancient game combines simple rules with deep strategic possibilities.
Objective
The goal is to reduce your opponent to two pieces or block them so they cannot make any legal moves. You achieve this by forming mills and strategically removing their pieces.
Setup
The board consists of three concentric squares connected by lines at the midpoints of their sides, creating 24 intersection points. Each player starts with 9 pieces of their color.
Gameplay
The game has three phases. In Phase 1 (Placing), players alternate placing pieces on empty points. In Phase 2 (Moving), players slide pieces to adjacent empty points. When you form a mill (3 in a row), you remove one opponent piece. In Phase 3 (Flying), a player with only 3 pieces can move to any empty point.
Winning
The game ends when a player is reduced to two pieces (unable to form mills) or cannot make a legal move. The other player wins. If both players repeat the same position three times, the game is a draw.
Learn, Play, and Have Fun!
Ready to play Nine Men's Morris online? Start a match against the computer now. No signup, no friction.