Expert to Beginner

Nine Man Morris

I remember playing this game as a kid, but I dont remember what we called it. Well, its Nine Man Morris.

Walter sent me this:

I found this game in a book I was reading and introduced it to my students.  We began by drawing the board on paper and using checkers.  I had some time this weekend so I made a board out of wood using my drill press with a round rasp bit, my wood burning kit and bench top sander. It only took about 30 minutes to make and turned out pretty cool. 

Nine Man Morris is an ancient game over 3,000 years old. It was played by American Indians from the Inuit to the Pre-Columbians, by the Vikings, the Ancient Egyptians, and early Europeans.

 To start the game, the players place their pieces (marbles) in any of the available circles on the board. When all pieces are placed, the game enters the second part. Players now move their pieces. A piece can be moved from one circle to another along the lines. Pieces can never be placed or moved to a slot that is already occupied.  Whenever a player forms a mill (three pieces in a row), they can take one of their opponents pieces.  The game ends when a player cannot make a move or they only have two pieces remaining.

Very cool. I love the idea of burning the lines. I can imagine endless ways you could make this game. To be correct, Walter tells me his board is actually a Six Man Morris game. I see there are also three and twelve man versions.

Great project to crank out on a lazy afternoon.