A while ago I picked up a cheap wooden chess-set in order to learn how to play. It was the type of set that you could turn into a few different games like draughts, snakes and ladders, and ludo – games I’d played before numerous times. It also included an unrecognisable board for a game I’d never heard of before: Nine Men’s Morris.
As I’d thrown away the instructions along with the box months ago, I had to rely on the internet to show me how to play. Wikipedia told me it was a game for two players from the Roman Empire, but I could not understand the instructions for the life of me. So I turned to something more my level – a child’s YouTube tutorial.
Once we got the hang of it we got really into it. The aim is to get three of your counters in a row so you can take one of the opponent’s counters, and the person with the most counters left wins. It sounds simple, but there was a lot of strategy involved and reminded me a little of chess in the way you have to anticipate how your opponent will move a few moves ahead.
We really had fun playing this, and it’s something I’ll definitely come back to. For me, it had the same feel of chess, but each game was a lot quicker and simpler. If you’re like me and haven’t heard of Nine Men’s Morris, I really recommend giving it a try!
New Day, New Thing 