How to play Nine Stones: nine men’s morris rules and strategy

Nine Stones is Stockboi’s version of nine men’s morris, one of the oldest board games still played. Get three in a row and you remove one of your opponent’s stones; drop to two stones or run out of moves and you lose. Here are the exact rules we use, plus openings and tactics that actually win.

Play Nine Stones

The board and setup

The board is three nested squares with 24 points: 4 corners and 4 side midpoints on each square. Stones sit on the points, not inside the squares.

The squares connect only through their side midpoints. There are no diagonal links, so you can never slide from corner to corner.

There are 16 lines you can fill: the four sides of each square (12) and the 4 lines that run from the outer square to the inner one through the midpoints. Every point lies on exactly two lines.

Each player starts with 9 stones in hand and an empty board. The first move alternates from game to game.

Nine men’s morris rules: the three phases

Placing: take turns putting one stone from your hand on any empty point, until both hands are empty.
Moving: once your hand is empty, each turn you slide one stone along a line to an adjacent empty point. No jumping.
Flying: when you are down to 3 stones on the board, you may move a stone to any empty point. Each player enters this phase separately, so you can be flying while your opponent is still sliding.

Mills and capturing stones

Three of your stones on one line make a mill. The move that forms a mill also lets you remove one of your opponent’s stones. The details matter:

Only the stone you just placed or moved can complete a mill. A mill that is simply sitting there does not keep scoring.
Open a mill and close it again on a later move, and you capture again. This is the classic way strong players grind out a win.
Completing two mills with one move still earns a single capture. Some house rules allow two; on Stockboi it is always one.
Stones in a mill are protected. If every one of your opponent’s stones is in a mill, you may take any of them.
You can only remove stones from the board, never from your opponent’s hand.
Mills made during the placing phase count too.

How the game ends: wins and draws

Traditional play often leaves draws to the players’ agreement. Stockboi applies both draw rules automatically, so nobody can stall forever.

You win when your opponent has fewer than 3 stones left in hand and on the board combined.
You also win if, in the moving phase, your opponent has no legal slide at all. A player who is still placing or is flying can never be blocked.
Draw: after all stones are placed, 60 moves in a row (30 each) without a capture.
Draw: the same position, with the same player to move, appears for the 3rd time since the last capture.

A turn, step by step

Check your phase: stones in hand means you place, otherwise you slide or fly.
Look for threats first. If your opponent has two stones on a line with the third point open, block that point or the path to it.
No threat? Pick the move that builds toward a mill or feeds two lines at once.
If you made a mill, choose the capture with purpose: break the mill they are building, or free up your own blocked stones.
Before ending, ask what your opponent can close or build next turn.

Opening strategy: where to place your stones

Rushing for an early mill is a common trap. The real goal of the placing phase is a spread-out, connected position that can still move once sliding starts.

The strongest points are the side midpoints of the middle square, with four neighbors each. Midpoints on the outer and inner squares have three, and corners only two. Stacking your first stones in corners gets you blocked later.

Block your opponent’s lines as they form, but try to block with stones that also sit on a useful line of yours. The best block is one that is also a threat.

Nine men’s morris strategy and tactics

Build a fork: set up a point where one stone completes two different mills. Your opponent can only cover one.
Use a swinging mill: arrange stones so one piece slides out of one mill and into another, then back. If they cannot break it, you capture every single turn.
Count mobility: in the moving phase, compare how many of your stones can move against theirs. Blocking an opponent completely wins just like capturing does.
Capture with intent: take the stone that is part of their next mill or the one that hems in your pieces.
Respect a flying opponent: once they are on 3 stones, any open pair anywhere on the board is an instant threat. Two open pairs means you will lose a stone.
When you are the one on 3: fly to plug the third point of their lines, and look for a position with two threats at once.

Common beginner mistakes

Crowding all your stones into one corner, then finding they cannot move.
Chasing your own mill and missing your opponent’s pair.
Expecting two captures from a double mill; on Stockboi you get one.
Never opening a finished mill. It protects your stones but scores nothing until you open and close it.
Only watching nearby points after your opponent starts flying.

A short history of nine men’s morris

Nine men’s morris is one of the oldest board games around. It was played in the Roman era, was hugely popular in medieval Europe, and even gets a mention in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In Turkey it is known as dokuz taş, nine stones, which is where our name comes from.

With the standard rules, the game was solved by computer in the 1990s: with perfect play from both sides, it is a draw.

Playing Nine Stones on Stockboi

It runs in your browser with no sign-up and no download. Play solo against the computer on Easy, Medium or Hard. Easy is for learning; Hard calculates deep.

Online, create a room and send the link to a friend, or get matched with a random opponent. You have 60 seconds per move, and the first move switches sides in a rematch.

On a phone, tap an empty point to place. To slide, tap your stone and then a glowing point. After a mill, tap one of your opponent’s pulsing stones to remove it.

Frequently asked questions

What is flying in nine men’s morris?

When a player is down to 3 stones on the board, they can move a stone to any empty point instead of sliding to a neighbor. It gives the losing side a real chance to fight back.

Can you remove a stone that is in a mill?

Not normally; stones in a mill are protected. If all of your opponent’s stones are in mills, you may remove any one of them.

Do you get two captures for forming two mills at once?

Not on Stockboi. One move earns at most one capture, even if it completes two mills, although some house rules allow two.

How do you win nine men’s morris?

Reduce your opponent to 2 stones, or leave them with no legal move in the sliding phase. Either one ends the game immediately.

Can nine men’s morris end in a draw?

Yes. On Stockboi it is a draw after 60 moves without a capture once all stones are placed, or when the same position comes up a third time.

Can you reopen and close the same mill to capture again?

Yes. Slide a stone out of the mill and back in on a later turn and it counts as a new mill, so you capture again.

Where is the best place to put your first stone?

The side midpoints of the middle square have four neighbors, the most on the board, so they give you the most mobility. Corners have only two and are the weakest early spots.