Three Men's Morris

One of the simplest board games in the world is three men's morris. Each player has three pieces, and the board is a grid of nine points, in three rows of three. Players enter their pieces one at a time, in turn, trying to form a row of three. Once all pieces are on the board, players move their pieces along the marked lines until one player or other has a row of three, that player winning the game.

History of Three Men's Morris

The game is of unknown antiquity, but is assumed to have been known in the ancient world. Circular patterns etched into Roman stonework are often thought to be a variant of three men's morris. Similar diagrams are found in Egypt, Greece, Sri Lanka and China. In China, 21 books on the game were written around the end of the sixth century.

Three men's morris did not come to Britain until the Norman conquest in the eleventh century. After that time it is found across the country, and a number of examples have been found carved into the stonework of cloister seats. It was documented in Spain in 1283, when it was demonstrated that the first player has a forced win. It was recorded in Ireland in the seventeenth century under the name cashlan gherra, and became popular in the nineteenth century.

Today, it seems to be little played, but its degenerate descendant, noughts and crosses (or tic-tac-toe) is much better known. Three men's morris is a better game than noughts and crosses. Both games are suitable for teaching the rudiments of tactics to children, but unlike noughts and crosses where a draw can be forced, in three men's morris the forced outcome is a little less obvious and the game can therefore entertain for a while longer.

Rules for Three Men's Morris

2. The board starts empty, each player holding all his pieces in hand.

3. At first, each player in turn puts one piece on the board, at any vacant point.

4. Once all pieces are on the board, a player instead moves one of his pieces along a marked line to an adjacent empty point.

5. If a piece placed or moved as in rules 3 or 4 forms a row of three along a marked line (called a mill), he wins the game.

Strategy in Three Men's Morris

The standard game can be won by the first player, as pointed out in the Libro de los Juegos, or "Book of Games", of 1283. There are two possible victories, depending upon the second player's moves, the first being: 1. b2, a3; 2. b1, b3; 3. c1, a1; 4. b1-c1, any; 5. b2-c2. The second is 1. b2, b3; 2. a1, c3; 3. a3, a2; 4. a1-b1, any; 5. b1-c1.

To avoid these predictable conclusions, in France an extra rule has been adopted: the first player is not allowed to take the opening b2. While the second player can take it, the presence of a piece of the first player already on the board prevents this rule from transferring the same forced victory to the second player.