Nine men's morris rules

Nine men's morris is a strategy game for two players. Each of you has nine pieces, the men. Line up three of your pieces and you have a mill. Every mill lets you take one of your opponent's pieces off the board.

The game also goes by the names mills, merels and merrills. People have played it at least since Roman times. These rules cover the standard game, with smaller and larger boards under Variants.

Players: 2
Playing time: 10-30 min
Age: 8+
What you need: A morris board and 9 pieces per player in two colours (coins or buttons will do)

Updated: 2 November 2026

The board and the pieces

The board is three squares, one inside another. Four short lines join the middles of their sides. Each short line starts at the middle of a side of the outer square. It crosses the middle square and ends at the middle of the same side of the inner square.

Pieces stand on points: the corners of the squares and the middles of their sides. There are 24 points. Two points are neighbours when a line joins them with no other point between them.

The board has 16 lines of three points: the four sides of each square and the four short lines.
Every point lies on exactly two of these lines.
There are no diagonal lines.

Each player has nine pieces of one colour. One set is usually light, the other dark. If you don't have a set, draw the board on paper and use coins or buttons.

Aim of the game

Remove your opponent's pieces until they have only two left. You can also win by blocking them so that they cannot move. Your weapon is the mill: three of your own pieces on one line.

Before you start

Put the empty board between you.
Each player takes nine pieces of one colour and keeps them in hand, next to the board.
Draw lots to decide who goes first. In later games, take turns to start.

Placing the pieces

The game has two phases. First you place your pieces on the board. Then you move them.

In the placing phase, take turns to put one piece from your hand on any empty point. Pieces already on the board stay where they are for now.

A mill made while placing counts too. Remove one of your opponent's pieces straight away (see Mills and removing pieces).

The placing phase ends when both players have put all their pieces on the board. A piece removed in this phase never comes back.

Placing is part of the game, not just the setup. Don't rush to fill the corners. The middles of the sides have more neighbours, so pieces there can move more freely later.

Mills and removing pieces

A mill is three of your pieces on one of the 16 lines. Three pieces along a side of a square count. So do three pieces on a short line. Three pieces that turn a corner do not.

For example, say you hold both ends of the top side of the outer square. Put a third piece in the middle of that side, and you have a mill.

When you make a mill, remove one of your opponent's pieces from the board at once. That piece is out of the game. Then your turn ends.

You may not remove a piece that stands in one of your opponent's mills.
If every piece your opponent has on the board stands in a mill, you may remove any of them.
A mill earns nothing more just by staying on the board. You remove a piece only on the turn you make the mill.
A single move that makes two mills at once still removes just one piece.

You may open a mill by moving one of its pieces off the line. When you move that piece back on a later turn, you make the mill again. You then remove another piece. You can do this as often as you like.

Moving the pieces

Once all the pieces are placed, take turns to move one of your pieces. The player who placed first also moves first. Slide the piece along a line to an empty neighbouring point.

You may not jump over a piece, yours or your opponent's.
You may not skip your turn. If you can move, you must.
A corner has two neighbours. The middle of a side has three or four.

Blocking matters in this phase. A piece whose neighbours are all occupied cannot move. So keep some empty points next to your own pieces.

Flying with three pieces

When you are down to three pieces, they can fly. On your turn, move any one of them to any empty point on the board. It doesn't have to be a neighbour, and the lines don't matter.

Only the player with three pieces flies. The other player keeps moving to neighbouring points. If both of you have three pieces, you both fly.

Flying gives the player who is behind a fighting chance. A flying piece can block a mill anywhere on the board, or set up a new one.

End of the game

You win when one of these happens:

Your opponent is down to two pieces. Nobody can make a mill with two pieces.
It is your opponent's turn in the moving phase, and none of their pieces can move.

Pieces still in hand count too. During the placing phase, a player with two pieces on the board and more in hand is still in the game.

A player who flies can always move. So only a player with four or more pieces can be blocked.

Draws

With perfect play on both sides, nine men's morris is a draw. Most players call the game a draw in any of these cases:

You both agree to a draw.
The same position, with the same player to move, comes up for the third time.
Neither of you has made a mill in your last 50 moves each.

Agree on the draw rules before you start. Some players count 40 moves instead of 50.

Variants

Without flying

Some players leave flying out. A player with three pieces keeps moving to neighbouring points like everyone else. The player who is behind then has a harder time. Blocking a player with three pieces also wins.

Three men's morris

A short game, good for children and first-timers. The board is a square of nine points in three rows of three, as in noughts and crosses. Lines join the points along the rows and the columns, and often along both diagonals.

Each player has three pieces.
Take turns to place them. Three in a row on a line wins at once.
If nobody has won after placing, take turns to move a piece along a line to a neighbouring empty point. Three in a row made by moving wins too.
In some versions, a piece may move to any empty point.

Six men's morris

The board has only two squares, one inside the other, joined by four short lines. It has 16 points.

Each player has six pieces.
A mill is three pieces along a side of a square. The short lines have only two points, so you can't make a mill on them.
There is no flying.
Everything else works as in the standard game.

Twelve men's morris

The board of the standard game gets four diagonal lines. Each one runs through one corner of each of the three squares.

Each player has twelve pieces.
The diagonals are lines of three points too, so you can make mills on them.
Points next to each other on a diagonal are neighbours.
If nobody removes a piece while placing, the 24 pieces fill the board. The game is then a draw.
Everything else works as in the standard game.

Frequent questions

How do the two phases work?

First you take turns placing your nine pieces on empty points. When both players have placed them all, you take turns moving one piece to a neighbouring empty point. A player who is down to three pieces flies instead.

What is a mill?

Three of your pieces on one line of the board. When you make one, you remove one of your opponent's pieces. Diagonals don't count, and neither do three pieces that turn a corner.

Can you remove a piece from a mill?

Not while your opponent has a piece outside a mill. If all their pieces on the board stand in mills, you may remove any of them. Some older rule sheets never allow it, so agree on this before you start.

What is flying?

When you have only three pieces left, you may move one of them to any empty point. Only you fly. Your opponent keeps moving to neighbouring points until they are down to three as well. Some players leave flying out (see the variant Without flying).

What happens if a player cannot move?

They lose. This can only happen in the moving phase, when all their pieces are boxed in. You can't pass instead of moving. A player who flies always has a move.

Can you make the same mill again?

Yes. Move one piece out of the mill, then move it back on a later turn. Each time the mill closes, you remove a piece. There is no limit.

What if one move makes two mills?

Under these rules, you remove one piece. As a house rule, many players remove two pieces for two mills made at once. Agree on this before you start.

How many pieces and points are there?

Each player has nine pieces. The board has 24 points and 16 lines of three. At most 18 pieces stand on the board, so there is always an empty point to place on.

Who goes first?

Draw lots for the first game, then take turns to start. Some sets let the lighter pieces or the younger player start. Any fair way is fine.

Can the game end in a draw?

Yes. You can agree to one. Most players also call a draw when the same position, with the same player to move, comes up for the third time. They do the same after 50 moves each without a mill. With perfect play on both sides, the game is always a draw.

Do mills made while placing count?

Yes. A mill made in the placing phase removes a piece, just like a mill made by moving.

What is a double mill?

Five pieces set up so that one piece can step back and forth between two mills. Each move opens one mill and closes the other, so you remove a piece every turn. It is one of the strongest positions in the game. Some players call it a running mill.

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