Three Men's Morris — three in a row, then move
Like tic-tac-toe, but with only three pieces each. Once all six are down you slide pieces along the lines, so the game does not stop with a full board.
From Three Men's Morris, an old game related to tic-tac-toe.
What it shows a designer
Placing pieces, then moving them: a second phase keeps a tic-tac-toe-like game from ending in a draw. It shows phases as a design tool.
Credits
- Made by
- Traditional
- Rules from
- The board as recorded by the US National Park Service
- Sources
- www.nps.gov/morr/learn/kidsyouth/3-men-s-morris.htm
www.cyningstan.com/game/106/three-mens-morris
What you need
- paper and a pen to draw the board
- 3 coins or pebbles each, of two kinds
How to play
- Board. Draw a square with nine points: the four corners, the middle of each side and the centre. Join them with lines across, down, and through the centre along both diagonals.
- Place. Toss a coin to see who starts. Take turns placing one piece on an empty point. Three of yours in a straight line wins at once.
- Move. When all six pieces are down, take turns sliding one of your pieces along a line to an empty point next to it. No jumping.
- Win. The first to make a straight line of three wins.
- Draw. If the same position keeps coming back, or after 20 moves each, call it a draw.
After playing, talk about
- Did the first piece in the centre matter?
- When did you make two threats at once?
- How did the game change once pieces started moving?
Its blocks
Download it as a design (.md)In boardgameBuilder, Open game puts its blocks on the canvas. Changed, the same file can come back here from Propose a game.