Merrills Journey

Generally the best way to play abstract strategy games is with others in person. Preferably someone slightly better than you. Sadly, these days for one reason or another this is not always possible.  Finding a partner is not always easy, especially when most of your friends have probably never played. Coaching a few loyal supporters can work, but invariably they lose interest fairly quickly. Fortunately, on the internet we have a wealth of options. Merrills is played on many games sites and you can pick and choose depending on your level. The first for me was a site called Goldtoken. I had played various games there on a couple accounts off and on for over 15 years. It is a turn based site, in which you don't have to be online at the same time as your opponent. For a beginner like me this was perfect. It allowed me time to think of the best move without to much stress. The competition was good but not overwhelming. After having played there for about 6 months I decided to think of ...

This is not the place to describe the rules of the game. Most likely, if you are here, you have a fair idea what this is about. If not, Wikipedia has an excellent entry in both English and German, for which I will link to below. This entry will be more about the larger picture. Where does this game fit into the list of beautiful abstract games we have? Why play Merrills? Firstly it should be noted that out of all the games that I explored over the years Merrills was the most misunderstood. It is not entirely clear why, but I have some theories. Of the most confusing aspects of the game is already in its name. In England it is known by several names alone. Nine Men's Morris is probably the most common, but Mill, Mills and Merrills are others. There are more obscure ones including the horrendous Cowboy checkers. For most people growing up in the UK Nine Men's Morris will be their first port of call, which in itself leads to much misunderstanding because of the closeness not the p...

For those that do not know me, I am a professional musician living in India for the last 25 years. Outside music I have always been interested in abstract strategy games. Over the years I tried each and every game I could get the rules to. From Mancala to Backgammon, Checkers, Chess and Konane, I tried them all. This was until I finally came across Nine men's Morris - also known as Mill or Merrills. I personally like the name Merrills as it has an old English feel to it, and it is also the name that I used with my teacher from the beginning.  My first encounter with the game was short and sweet. It lasted about 2 weeks. I saw this as a beautiful and challenging game, but sadly the Internet was devoid of any information at all. At least, none that was useful beyond the history of the game. It was nothing that I could get my teeth into. The game was too difficult alone so I quit. Several years later, having delved into a number of other games including Cribbage and many of the Chess ...