Introduction to Merrills Journey

-

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 variants I had a chance friend request on Facebook. I had a look and it didn't match any of my musical friends so I decided to look closer. It was none other than Markus Schaub, World Champion of Merrills and the most successful player of all time.

I thought to myself; this is too good an opportunity to be missed. Outside my musical aspirations, this was a longtime dream. To study a game in depth and hopefully gain some expert knowledge.

After a friendly chat I asked Markus if he gives lessons, and he immediately said yes. 

This would be the start of my journey. One that takes me on a path in which music and games meet and the joys and challenges it gives.

Popular posts from this blog

It's been two years. Where am I now?

-
I am a little behind schedule in writing this post. 2022 was not the best of years for me, for many reasons that are beyond the scope of this blog. Still, there was something that was consistent throughout the year, and that was my continued passion to learn this fabulous game. So how did I do?   Firstly, I have definitely improved. My game is on a much better footing than before, and I have had moments where I have beaten some of the best players that I currently play against. I am also getting many more draws against the top players, and losing is less frequent. On the down side, I am still playing mostly slow games on turn based sites.  I have spent more time playing 5 and 10 minute matches in real time but not enough to really make a difference in that area. My thought processes are slow at best. I also did not spend huge amounts of time studying the game this year, (mostly for reasons stated above) and I learned mostly by simply playing a great deal, and analysi...
Read more

Computer players - Where to start

-
One of the big advantages of learning an abstract strategy game today as opposed to 20 years ago is that there are plenty of ways to play the game against a computer opponents. Just as in chess, checkers and backgmmon, there are no shortage of apps and computer challengers.  Having said that, one must be very careful. Quantity is definitely not quality in this case, and there are relatively few that are worthwhile playing any length of time. A good app or desktop program can gain you plenty of time in learning the game but the opposite is also true. Here, just like the post on online play I will cover just the basics. Where to start. The professional software and programs will come later. If you have a mobile device the place to start would be Mills by Lite Games. I will say right away, it is not the strongest of the bunch but, for beginners it is enough to get your teeth into. If you can regularly beat the very hard difficulty, then move on and get something else. The reason I cho...
Read more

Master of Merrills - Chapter 2 - Learning the Game

-
I apologise for the delay in publishing this. It should have been done in June not July - but better late than never. I hope people enjoy reading this next instalment as much as the first. I've tried to make it a little longer than the first in order to make up for lost time. Feedback is welcome as always. Chapter 2 - Learning the Game. The long road to success.  Tell us about some of your early experiences playing the game: It was around the summer time of 1977. Just over 40 years ago I dared to play for the first time at the public garden (playing park) of Bern's Bärenplatz against a woman who was considered to be strong.   She was called Epa-Marie, because she worked in a wholesale store called EPA - (this chain doesn't exist anymore). We played, but each time she blocked me out, or so I thought, because at that time I knew no more about the game and its theory than a cow knows about climbing. In any case, it was only later that I learned that it was I who was blocking m...
Read more