Play Nine Men’s Morris Online Free — Solo or With Friends

How to Play

1. Each player gets nine pieces. Take turns placing one piece at a time on any empty point where the lines meet.
2. Get three of your pieces in a straight line along a board line. That line is called a mill.
3. Every time you form a mill, tap one of your opponent’s pieces to remove it from the board.
4. Once all eighteen pieces have been placed, take turns sliding one piece along a line to a free neighbouring point.
5. Win by leaving your opponent with only two pieces, or by trapping them so they have no legal move.

Rules

The board has 24 points arranged on three squares joined at the middle of each side. A mill is three pieces of one colour along one straight line — either along a side of a square or across the three connecting points.

When you close a mill you must take one enemy piece. You cannot take a piece that sits inside a mill, unless every enemy piece is in a mill, in which case any piece may go. Breaking one of your own mills and closing it again on a later turn counts as a brand-new mill.

When a player is down to exactly three pieces, those pieces can fly: instead of sliding along a line, a piece may jump to any empty point on the board. This gives the weaker side a fighting chance.

If fifty moves are made in the sliding stage without anybody forming a mill, the game is declared a draw so it never goes on forever.

Tips & Strategy

• Don’t rush to make mills while placing. A quick mill early often leaves your pieces stuck on the edge. Spreading out and keeping freedom to move later is usually worth more than one capture.
• Grab the four busy crossing points. The middle point of each side of the middle square touches four lines, so pieces there support more mills and move more easily.
• Build a “running mill”. Set up a piece that can slide out of a mill and straight back in. Each back-and-forth trip closes the mill again and takes a piece every two turns.
• Always check the two-in-a-row threats. Before every move, look for any line where your opponent already has two pieces and an open third point, and block it.
• Choose captures that break plans. When you remove a piece, take the one that was about to complete a mill or that blocks your own pieces.
• Count mobility in the sliding stage. A player who runs out of moves loses, so hemming in enemy pieces can win even when you are behind on material.

Game Modes

Play vs Computer has three levels. Easy often misses threats and sometimes gifts you a mill. Medium looks a few moves ahead and blocks most obvious lines. Hard searches deeper, loves building running mills and rarely leaves a threat unanswered.

Play with Friend lets two people share one phone or tablet. The turn banner and the glowing border on each player’s panel show whose move it is.

Play Online pairs you with a friend on another device, with the host always moving first.

Play with Friends Online

Open Play Online and choose to create a room. You will see a short code plus a link you can paste into WhatsApp, Telegram or a text message. When your friend taps it, the game page opens with your room already filled in, and they only need to type a display name. As soon as they appear in the lobby, start the match. Both boards stay in sync move by move, and a player who refreshes the page drops straight back into the same game.