Nine Men's Morris

board games · strategy · ancient games

Really old game. Nine men's morris dates back at least to the Roman Empire, making it thousands of years old. People have been playing this exact game for over 2,000 years.

Make a mill. The goal is to arrange your pieces into a row of three, called a mill. When you get a mill, you remove one of your opponent's pieces from the board.

Solved game. Computer scientists have figured out the perfect strategy for nine men's morris. When both players play perfectly, the game always ends in a tie, with neither side winning.

Many names. This game has been called by tons of different names over time, including mill, merels, cowboy checkers, and even ninepenny marl. It's the same game with different regional names.

Hidden board. In North America, nine men's morris boards are sometimes printed on the back of checkerboards, so you can flip your board over to play a different game.