How to Play Nine Men's Morris
Nine Men's Morris is one of the oldest board games in the world, played for over 2,000 years. Each player has nine pieces called men; line up three to form a mill and remove an enemy man. It's simple to learn and surprisingly deep.
By the Multiplayer Games team · Updated · Rules checked against the sources below
Objective
Reduce your opponent to two men, or leave them with no legal move.
Setup
The board has 24 points on three nested squares joined by lines. Both players start with nine men off the board.
Nine Men's Morris rules, step by step
- Placing. Take turns placing one man on any empty point until all eighteen are on the board.
- Form mills. Three of your men in a straight line along a board line is a mill. Each new mill lets you remove one of your opponent's men.
- Moving. Once all men are placed, move one man per turn along a line to a neighbouring empty point.
- Flying. When you're down to three men, you can move a man to any empty point on the board.
- Win. Your opponent loses when they have only two men or can't make a legal move.
Nine Men's Morris variants, and the rules we use
Nine Men's Morris is played slightly differently from place to place. These are the variants you're most likely to meet:
- Three and six men's morris. Smaller boards with fewer pieces.
- Twelve men's morris. Adds diagonal lines and three more pieces each.
- No flying. Some rule sets don't let a player with three pieces fly.
How Nine Men's Morris works in Multiplayer Games:
- Pieces in a mill can't be removed unless every enemy piece is in a mill.
- Flying is allowed with three pieces left.
- A player who can't move on their turn loses.
Nine Men's Morris strategy for beginners
- During placing, prioritise flexibility over mills — men on junction points have the most moves later.
- Set up a 'running mill': a man that can move back and forth to reform a mill every other turn.
- Don't remove men from your opponent's mills unless you have to — break their potential mills instead.
- Keep your men mobile; getting blocked in loses games outright.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Rushing to make mills early and ending the placing phase with no moves.
- Clustering men on the outer corners where they have only two neighbours.
Nine Men's Morris terms explained
- Mill
- Three of your pieces in a straight line on the board.
- Flying
- Moving to any empty point, allowed once you're down to three pieces.
- Running mill
- A piece that can slide out and back to re-form a mill every other move.
A short history of Nine Men's Morris
Nine Men's Morris is one of the oldest board games still played. Boards have been found scratched into stone across the Roman world and medieval Europe — including on cloister benches in English cathedrals — and Shakespeare mentions the 'nine men's morris' in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In 1993 the computer scientist Ralph Gasser solved the game: with perfect play from both sides it is a draw.
Nine Men's Morris FAQ
Sources
We checked these rules against:
