MORELLES, OR NINE MEN’S MORRIS.
This game, sometimes called The Mill, is played on a board ruled off into compartments, as follows:
Each player has nine men, of distinguishable colours. They draw for first move, and each in turn places a man on any one of the corners or intersections of the lines. As soon as either player gets three men in line, he can remove from the board any one of his adversaries’ pieces that he pleases, provided the piece is not one of three that are already in a line. If there are no other men on the board, he can remove one of a line.
After entering all nine of his men, the player can shift them about, one at a time, but no man can be moved farther than to the adjoining corner or intersection, and that must be vacant. As soon as a new line is formed in this way, an adverse man can be lifted. It is possible for one man to move back and forth in such a manner as to continually form and reform a line of three. When one player has only three men left, he can jump any of them to any vacant space on the board, no matter how far off. As soon as either player is reduced to two men, the game is over and he has lost.