However, even where the interpretation of these rules is contested, the game’s overall stability is impressive. There is some contention around certain rules or how they are interpreted, particularly the third phase. This speaks to just how robust the game is. Even more intriguing, its rules (at least from the oldest recording of them) appear to have changed very little. Since the game’s inception, the board appears not to have changed at all. The game has never quite given up its spotlight and it remains a well-loved pastime for those who love to explore new (and ancient) games, beyond the mainstream.

However, its popularity began to decline soon after, for unknown reasons. Monks and priests seemed to have been particular fans of the game, considering that its board pattern can be found carved into stone and wooden fixtures in both their abbeys and their cathedrals.ĭuring the Renaissance, the game found its way to a whole New World, quite literally, since it made its way to the Americas, where even the indigenous cultures adopted it. What we do know is that the game was well-loved in medieval times, spread across the three continents of the old world, and had a wide player base. With such widespread and ancient representation, it’s unlikely we’ll ever know its precise origins. It’s also been found in Bronze Age sites in Ireland’s Cr Bri Chualann in County Wicklow. The pattern for the board used to play Nine Men’s Morris has been found in Egypt’s ancient city of Kurna. Not only is it an ancient game, but it appears to be incredibly widespread. This game has been around so long that its origins have been lost to history. to reduce their pieces to no more than two. The end goal is to remove enough of the opposite player’s pieces until they can no longer form a mill under any circumstances-i.e. Even after all of the pieces are placed on the board, the players try to move them from one position to another, in order to form more mills. They’re a way to achieve the removal of the other player’s pieces. Instead, it’s a complex game where winning depends on the ability of the player to truly strategize and adjust to the other player’s moves.Įach row of three in Nine Men’s Morris is called a mill. However, unlike tic tac toe, it doesn’t have a single “winning” strategy. That’s because, much like tic tac toe, one theme of the game is forming rows of three on the board. Nine Men’s Morris is a strategy game, which has been described by some who have played it as a complex tic tac toe for adults. The name Nine Men’s Morris seems to have been originated by Shakespeare in his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Act II, Scene I), in which Titania refers to such a board by saying, “The nine men’s morris is filled up with mud”.

This game is known by many names, such as Mill or Windmill, most probably, because the shape of the board looks like a windmill, and Merrels, from the Latin word merellus, which means “gaming piece”. Nine Men’s Morris is an ancient game, popular in Ancient Rome.

Who made nine mens morris