A precursor to Tick-Tack-Toe, MegaChess Giant Nine Men's Morris is a game in which counters are placed on a grid with the aim of creating lines of three. Once all the pieces are down, they can be moved one space per move. Whenever a player forms a row of three, he can remove one of his opponent's pieces from the board. The first player down to two pieces loses.
The simplicity of the game board meant that people across the world could create their own without much hassle. Boards dating as far back as 1440 B.C. have been found carved into steps and rocks in Sri Lanka, Bronze Age Ireland, ancient Troy and the Southwestern United States. Not content with scaring the landscape alone, it seems that fans through history carved the board into seats, walls, and even tombstones across England. For all the concern over World of Warcraft, we'll know computer game addiction has become truly serious when people start vandalizing their nearest graveyard for a quick fix.
Rules
Nine Men's Morris, closely related to the board games Morabaraba, Three Men's Morris, Six Men's Morris, and Twelve Men's Morris, is an abstract strategy game that dates back to before 1400 BC.
Players - 2 players.
Equipment - A game board and nine pieces for each player (checkers work well for the playing pieces).
Goal - The goal is to get your opponent down to two pieces or to block him from making any legal moves.
Setup - The board is made up of three concentric squares, with three points marked on each side of each square (the two corners and a midpoint). The same-side midpoints of all three squares are connected by a straight line. A total of 24 points are marked on the board.
Gameplay - Setup Phase: Players taking turns laying their pieces on vacant points. Regular Phase: After all 18 pieces have been laid down, the regular phase begins. In this phase, a turn consists of sliding a piece along a line to a vacant point.
Whenever a player creates a string of three pieces on one line, he immediately removes one of his opponent's pieces. (This can happen during the setup phase or the regular phase.) However, an opponent's piece which is part of a string may not be removed unless no other piece is available.
NOTE: Sliding a piece one space on one turn, then back to its original space on a subsequent turn is a legal sequence.
Winning - The first player to get his opponent down to two pieces, or to block his opponent from making any legal moves, is the winner. Since 2002, our Chess Sets, Chess Boards, Checkers, and other accessories have been manufactured to the highest quality standards. Our manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Indonesia, and China utilizes artisans to handcraft each piece with special care to meticulous detail. You will not find better Teak, Resin, Fiberglass, Plaster or Plastic Chess Sets made anywhere in the world and delivered to your door for better value.
