Nine Men’s Morris is a board game for two players. Each player has nine pieces and takes turns placing them on the 24 points of the board. Three of your pieces in a row along a line form a mill, and every mill lets you remove one of your opponent’s pieces. Once all pieces are placed, players slide them along the lines to make new mills; a player with only three pieces left may jump to any empty point. You win when your opponent is down to two pieces or cannot move. This guide explains each of these morris game rules in detail, the draw rules, and the variants of the mill game you may meet.
Watch: how to play Nine Men's Morris
How to Play Nine Men's Morris: Rules Explained Simply
Chapters
Overview
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Players | 2 (or 1 against the computer) |
| Typical time | 10 to 20 minutes |
| Ages | Roughly 7 and up |
| Equipment | A board with 24 points and 9 pieces per player in two colors |
| Other names | Mill, mills, merels, merrills, morris |
The game is old. Morris boards have been found scratched into the stone benches of medieval churches and cloisters, and Shakespeare mentions “the nine men’s morris” in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “Men” is an old word for game pieces, and “morris” probably comes from a word for a counter or token. In much of Europe the game is simply called mill. In the 1990s computer researchers solved it: with perfect play from both sides, a game of Nine Men’s Morris ends in a draw. Between ordinary players, though, it is full of traps.
The board
The board is made of three squares, one inside the other, connected by four short lines that join the middles of their sides. The pieces stand on the 24 points where lines meet or end, not inside the squares.
A few facts about the board matter in every game:
- There are 16 lines of three points: one along each side of each square (12 lines), plus the four short lines that join the squares. Diagonals are not lines in this game.
- Each point lies on exactly two lines.
- Corners connect to two neighbors. The midpoints of the outer and inner squares connect to three. The midpoints of the middle square (d6, b4, f4 and d2) connect to four, which makes them the most flexible points on the board.
Setting up
The board starts empty. Each player takes nine pieces of one color, usually White and Black. Decide who goes first; many players let White start, and it is fair to alternate between games.
Objective
Win by reaching one of these two goals:
- Reduce your opponent to two pieces. With only two pieces they can never form a mill again.
- Leave your opponent with no legal move on their turn.
How a turn works
The game has two phases, and a third rule that kicks in near the end. Players always alternate, one turn each. A turn is one placement or one move, plus one removal if that placement or move formed a mill. Passing is not allowed.
The rules in detail
Placing pieces
In the first phase, players take turns placing one piece from their hand on any empty point. This continues until both players have placed all nine pieces, which takes 18 turns. You may place on any empty point, even one where a piece was removed earlier. Pieces that are removed don’t go back to anyone’s hand.
Forming a mill
A mill is three of your own pieces on one line. You form a mill the moment you complete such a line, whether by placing a piece or by moving one. Only new mills count: a mill that stays on the board doesn’t remove anything on later turns.
Removing a piece
When you form a mill, you immediately choose one of your opponent’s pieces and take it off the board. It is out of the game. On this site the turn bar asks you to remove one of your opponent’s pieces, and the pieces you may take are highlighted.
Protected pieces
You may not remove a piece that is part of one of your opponent’s mills, as long as they have at least one piece that isn’t in a mill. If every opposing piece on the board is in a mill, you may remove any of them.
Two mills at once
One placement or move can complete two mills at the same time, because each point lies on two lines. You still remove only one piece.
Moving pieces
Once both players have placed all nine pieces, the moving phase begins, and the player who placed first also moves first. On your turn, slide one of your pieces along a line to a neighboring empty point. You may not jump over pieces, move to an occupied point, or move along a diagonal. If the move completes a line of three, it forms a mill and you remove a piece.
Re-forming a mill
You may open a mill by moving one of its pieces away, then close it again by moving the piece back on a later turn. Each time the line is completed, it counts as a new mill. This is why a running mill, where one piece can swing back and forth between two mills, is so strong.
Flying
When a player is reduced to three pieces, after all pieces have been placed, they may move any of their pieces to any empty point on the board, not just a neighboring one. This is called flying or jumping. Their opponent keeps moving normally until they also drop to three. Flying gives the weaker side real chances to block mills and set up their own. It is on by default here and can be switched off in the setup; with it off, every move follows the lines.
Winning and drawing
Two pieces left
A player who is reduced to two pieces loses at once. This can only happen through removals, so it always follows a mill.
No legal move
If it is your turn in the moving phase and none of your pieces can move, because every one of them is surrounded, you lose. This also applies on the very first move after the placing phase, so watch your mobility while you place. A player who is flying always has a move.
Draws
Rule books differ on draws. This site uses two common rules:
- Threefold repetition: if the same position, with the same pieces on the same points and the same player to move, appears for the third time, the game is a draw. Positions only repeat in the moving phase, and the count starts again after every mill.
- 50 moves each without a mill: if both players make 50 moves in a row (100 turns in total) in the moving phase without anyone forming a mill, the game is a draw.
At a real board, players also often agree to a draw when neither side can make progress.
Variants and house rules
This site plays the standard rules described above: nine pieces each, 16 lines and no diagonals, one removal per move even with two mills, protected pieces in mills unless all are in mills, a loss for a blocked player, flying at three pieces (switchable), and draws by threefold repetition or 50 moves each without a mill. Other members of the morris family use the same ideas on different boards:
- Three Men’s Morris. A 3×3 grid with three pieces each. Players place their pieces, then move them one step at a time. The first player to make a line of three wins. Some boards include the diagonals.
- Six Men’s Morris. Only two squares (16 points) and six pieces each. Mills can only be made along the sides of the squares, and flying is usually not used.
- Twelve Men’s Morris. The nine men’s board with four extra diagonal lines joining the corners, and twelve pieces each. With 24 pieces and 24 points, the board can fill up completely during placing; if that happens with no mill formed, the game is a draw.
Common house rules for the nine men’s game include allowing removal from mills at any time, removing two pieces for a double mill, or playing without flying. Agree on them before you start.
Common mistakes and disputes
“I made a mill, so I get another turn.” No. A mill gives you one removal, then the turn passes as usual.
“That piece is in a mill, so it’s safe forever.” It is only safe while the mill stands and while your opponent has unprotected pieces. Once you move a piece out of the mill, the others can be taken.
“Moving back into the same mill doesn’t count.” It does. Opening and closing a mill again forms a new mill each time.
“You can never take a piece out of a mill.” Not quite. Pieces in mills are protected only while the player has another piece to take. If all of their pieces are in mills, any of them may be removed.
Placing yourself into a corner. A common way for new players to lose is filling the board so densely that, when the moving phase starts, none of their pieces can move.
Forgetting about flying. When your opponent drops to three, every empty point next to your two-in-a-row becomes reachable for them in one move.
Glossary
- Point: one of the 24 places where a piece can stand.
- Line: three points in a row. There are 16.
- Mill: three of your pieces on one line.
- Open mill: two of your pieces on a line with the third point empty.
- Running mill (or double mill): pieces arranged so that one piece can swing between two mills, forming one on every move.
- Placing phase: the first 18 turns, when pieces come onto the board.
- Moving phase: the rest of the game, when pieces slide along lines.
- Flying: moving to any empty point, allowed with exactly three pieces left.
- Blocked: a piece, or a whole side, with no empty neighboring point to move to.
Play it now
The best way to learn the rules is to play a game. Open Nine Men’s Morris to play with a friend on one device or against the computer on Easy, Medium or Hard. When you know the rules, the Nine Men’s Morris strategy tutorial shows how to place well, build a running mill and win the flying endgame.