Nine Men's Morris Compact (foldable)

Another board game from my youth - Nine Men's Morris, in the foldable edition.

 

Nine Men’s Morris is a classic strategy board game for two players, similar to Tic-Tac-Toe but more complex. It is played on a board with 24 points (intersections) connected by lines. Each player has nine pieces (or "men") in their color. The goal is to reduce your opponent to two pieces or block them from making a legal move.

 

It's a Print in place model, without any gluing required. 

The pieces are held together with pins and 4 5x5mm magnets - if you have a different size, feel free to make a different size hole :)

 

 

Game rules

Game Setup

• Each player starts with nine pieces (typically white and black).
• The board consists of three concentric squares connected by lines at the midpoints.
• The game has three phases: Placement, Movement, and Flying (if applicable).

Game Phases

1. Placement Phase

• Players take turns placing one piece at a time on any empty point.
• The goal is to create a "mill" (three pieces in a row along a straight line).
• When a player forms a mill, they remove one of the opponent’s pieces (not from an existing mill unless no other pieces are available).
• This continues until all nine pieces have been placed.

2. Movement Phase

• Once all pieces are placed, players take turns moving one piece at a time.
• A piece can move to any adjacent connected point.
• Players still try to form mills to remove the opponent’s pieces.
• The game continues until one player is reduced to two pieces or cannot move.

3. Flying Phase (if applicable)

• If a player is left with only three pieces, they can "fly" their pieces.
• This means they can move to any open point on the board, not just adjacent ones.
• Flying is a special rule to give a losing player a chance to fight back.

Winning the Game

A player wins if:

1. The opponent has only two pieces left (they can no longer form a mill).
2. The opponent has no legal moves left (they are blocked).

Additional Rules & Strategy

• You cannot remove a piece from an opponent’s mill unless no other pieces are available.
• Mills can be broken and reformed by moving a piece in and out of position, allowing multiple removals.
• Blocking your opponent’s movement is a key defensive tactic.

Boost MeAre you interested in more games in this format? Next to come - Checkers, backgammon and more