Morabaraba / 12 Men’s Morris

Setup

• 2 Players - 12 pieces each - black / white
• Pieces may sit on 24 points (where lines meet)
• Game begins with empty game board as shown

Goal

Build “mills” to remove opponent’s pieces, or lock them in. The game ends when one player has only 2 pieces left or is locked in and cannot move anymore.

Closing a Mill

• 3 pieces of the same colour on a straight line are called a "mill".
• Whenever you newly create such a pattern, you have "closed a mill" and immediately remove one of the opponent's pieces from the board. Removed pieces are excluded from the game and cannot not be used again.
• Note: Pieces that are themselves part of a mill can only be removed if no other pieces are available.
• If you manage to close 2 mills at once, you still only remove one piece.

The closing of a mill may occur at any time throughout the following game phases:

Phase 1 - Placing pieces

• Take turns placing your pieces on any empty board positions.
• Continue until all pieces have been placed.

Phase 2 - Moving pieces

Now on each turn move one of your pieces along a line to an adjacent empty point.

Flying

A player who has exactly 3 pieces left on the board can “fly”: On each turn, pick up up one of your pieces and put it on an empty position anywhere on the board.
If the other player still has more than 3 pieces on the board, he/she continues to move pieces as mentioned above.

Strategy tip

Move a piece from a closed mill to open it. On your next turn close it again and remove an opponent's piece. The opponent may interfere by moving a piece into the gap of the opened mill.