Three Men's Morris

About Three Men's Morris

An ancient game, older than chess, and a lovely step up from noughts and crosses. You each have three pieces. Place them one at a time, and if nobody has three in a row yet, start sliding a piece along the lines to an empty spot. Keep going until someone lines up three. You always go first — which matters, because with perfect play the first player can always win.

Three Men's Morris is one of our board & strategy games for kids. This one plays in the iPhone and iPad app rather than in the browser, but 33 of our games are free to play right here — browse the full library to find them. It is also in our classic games for kids and logic games for kids collections.

How to Play

• Tap an empty spot to place a piece — you have three.
• Once all six pieces are down, tap one of yours to pick it up.
• Tap a highlighted spot to slide it there along a line.
• Three of your pieces in a row wins.

Tips & Tricks

• The middle spot sits on four lines — it's the strongest square.
• Block the computer's line even if it means delaying your own.
• Each new computer opponent is stronger than the last, so every move has to count.

What It Practises

Three Men's Morris is a tiny strategy game with two phases. First each player places three pieces; then pieces slide along the lines. In the sliding phase a child has to think about where a piece can move next, not only where it is now, which is the same planning that larger games like Checkers ask for.

Because the board has only nine points, every position is easy to see, and children can learn from each loss: the computer won because a line was left open. It is a good game for learning to block as well as attack.

• Thinking a move ahead
• Blocking as well as attacking

What Age Is Three Men's Morris For?

Best for ages 6 to 12. Six- and seven-year-olds can learn the rules in one game and beat the first computer opponent. Older children will enjoy working out why the middle point matters so much and trying to beat the strongest opponent.

Tips for Parents

Three Men's Morris is far older than chess and much quicker to learn, which makes it a good bridge between noughts and crosses and real strategy games. A game takes two or three minutes.

The interesting part comes after the placing phase, when pieces start sliding. Children have to think about where a piece can go next, not just where it is now. That is the same kind of planning Checkers asks for, in a much smaller game.

There are three computer opponents, each stronger than the last. If your child beats the first two but keeps losing to the third, that is expected, not a reason to give up.

Try It Without a Screen

• Draw the board (a square with both diagonals and the middle lines) on paper and play with three coins each.
• Step up to Nine Men's Morris, the bigger version, once three pieces feel easy.
• Play Noughts and Crosses and talk about why the middle square is the strongest, the same idea as in this game.

Three Men's Morris — Frequently Asked Questions