Merels, or Morris Games
This is an old name for nine men's morris and three men's morris. In fact, it was used for many games with similar looking boards, including Fox & Geese! Nowadays merels refers to games in the nine men's morris family. In these games, one has to form rows of three which, according to the rules, allows the capture of enemy pieces. The game is won when the enemy is reduced to two pieces and can no longer form a row.
Achi
Achi is a three-in-a-row game. It is played on a grid of three rows of three points. Players each have four pieces which are entered onto the board, in turn, one at a time. Once all the pieces are placed, they move from one point to an adjacent point. All the while players are trying to form rows of three along a marked line, for doing so wins them the game. History of Achi Achi appeared in one of ... (read more...)
Eleven Men's Morris
This is a variant of the game nine men's morris, with eleven men per side. It is played like twelve men's morris on the junctions of a board of three concentric squares, with the corners and edges joined. Whereas it is possible in twelve men's morris to jam the board up full of pieces causing a draw, eleven men's morris nearly always leaves the players a little room to move. History of Eleven and Twelve Men's Morris Eleven and ... (read more...)
Five Men's Morris
This is a merels game from Europe, functionally almost identical to six men's morris which was favoured for a time in continental Europe. Each player has five pieces to be placed, then moved, on a lined board. Forming a row of three along a marked line allows an enemy piece to be taken. The player who is reduced to two pieces loses the game. History of Five and Six Men's Morris Six men's morris was popular in mediaeval Europe. ... (read more...)
Nine Men's Morris
Nine men's morris is a classic game of pure strategy. It has been described as "noughts and crosses for adults", as it shares the simpler game's aim for forming rows of three, but weaves that aim into a much more sophisticated game of wits. The rows of three, called "mills", are not the main aim of the game, they are a means to an end. The board starts empty, and players place their pieces in turn; forming a row ... (read more...)
Six Men's Morris
This is a smaller counterpart to the better-known nine men's morris. Each player has six pieces to be placed, then moved, on a lined board. Forming a row of three along a marked line allows an enemy piece to be taken. The player who is reduced to two pieces loses the game. History of Five and Six Men's Morris Six men's morris was popular in mediaeval Europe. It is mentioned in a French source from 1412, and a sixteenth ... (read more...)
Sixpenny Maddell
This curious combination of Six and Nine Men's Morris was played in Wiltshire in England, and was observed in 1897. The game is played with six men per side on a board of three concentric triangles joined at the middle. In a similar way to Nine Men's Morris, it allows a row of three men to be formed on the lines that connect the triangles together. Rules for Sixpenny Maddell Rules for Sixpenny Maddell 1. Sixpenny maddell is played ... (read more...)
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. ... (read more...)
Twelve Men's Morris
Twelve men's morris is a strategic three-in-a-row game. Two players each have twelve pieces, and play on a board of 24 points. The players strive to make rows of three along the marked lines, first by placing the pieces on the board one at a time (as in tic-tac-toe), and then by moving the pieces from one point to another along a marked line. Forming a row of three pieces allows a player to remove an enemy piece. A ... (read more...)
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