Nine Men's Morris is a two-player strategy game played on a board of 24 intersections, with 9 men per player. Players alternate placing men on empty points, then slide them along lines to adjacent points. Forming a mill — three of your men on one of the 16 straight lines — removes one enemy man from the board. A man standing in an enemy mill is protected unless every enemy man is in a mill. You win when your opponent is reduced to two men or has no legal move on their turn.
Play now — it's freeThe board has 24 points: three concentric squares joined by four lines through the middle of each side. There are no diagonal lines — the 16 mill lines are exactly the 8 horizontals and 8 verticals drawn on the board.
Each player has 9 men, one dark set and one light set. By convention the dark side moves first.
Stage one — placing: players alternate setting one man on any empty point until all 18 men stand on the board.
A mill is three men of one colour on a straight board line — horizontal or vertical only.
Completing a mill (by placing or by moving) lets you remove one enemy man; removed men never return.
The mill exception: a man standing in an enemy mill may not be removed while that player has any other man — but if every enemy man stands in a mill, any man may be taken.
Even if a single move completes two mills at once, only one man may be removed.
Stage two — moving: slide one of your men along a marked line to an adjacent empty point. Men never jump over other men.
A player reduced to exactly three men may fly: move a man to any vacant point, not just an adjacent one. Only the three-man side flies.
You may break your own mill and later re-form it — the same mill may be opened and closed again and again, and every new closure earns another capture. This open-and-shut tactic is the classic way to grind down an opponent.
You win when the opponent is reduced to two men (too few to form a mill), or when they have no legal move on their turn.
Draws on this site: the same position occurring three times, or 50 consecutive moves without a capture, end the game as a draw — both are standard safeguards against endless shuffling.
A 300-move safety limit guarantees every game finishes.
Each move allows 40 seconds; if time runs out or a player disconnects, an automated assistant plays that move.
In the placing phase, favour versatile crossings — points where two or more mill lines meet (like d7 or d5) are worth more than corners.
Build double threats: two lines sharing one empty point cannot both be blocked.
Keep men mobile; a stuck man is a liability once the moving phase starts.
When ahead, build a "mill shuttle": one man opens and re-closes a mill every move, earning a capture each time.
Watch the flying rule — never let the opponent reach three men comfortably; take men that keep them above three.
Nine Men's Morris (the mill game, merels) is a two-player strategy board game played on 24 points with 9 men per player. Players win by forming mills — three in a row — and removing enemy men until the opponent has two left or no legal move.
Nine men per player, 18 in total. That is the key difference from the twelve-man variant (twelve men's morris), which gives each side twelve pieces and adds diagonal lines.
No. The Nine Men's Morris board has 16 mill lines — 8 horizontal and 8 vertical. Diagonal lines belong to the twelve-man variant, which has 20 lines on the same 24-point grid.
You remove one enemy man from the board. A man inside an enemy mill is protected while that player has any other man; if every enemy man stands in a mill, any man may be taken.
Yes. Moving a man out of a mill and back to re-form it earns a new capture each time — this shuttle is the classic winning technique. Every closure removes exactly one man.
A player with exactly three men may move to any empty point on the board, not just adjacent ones. Only the three-man side flies.
Reduce your opponent to two men, or leave them without a legal move on their turn. With perfect play from both sides the game is a theoretical draw, so decisive wins usually come from mill shuttles.
On this site the same position occurring three times, or 50 consecutive moves without a capture, is a draw; a 300-move safety limit also applies. These safeguards prevent endless shuffling.
Yes — play Nine Men's Morris online free at morris.yeeqia.com, straight in your browser with no download or sign-up required.
Yes, the site is mobile-first and runs in any modern browser on Android or iPhone, with a full English interface.