Nine Men’s Morrice was  a very popular game because it didn’t require special equipment to play. Soldiers might play morrice by scratching a game board in the dirt and using acorns and pebbles for playing pieces.  Some families might have a playing board carved from wood with matching playing pieces.  The Dyckman Family, who lived in upper Manhattan, carved a game board into a large rock in the foundation of the house which stuck out beside the stairs to the kitchen.  It was a cozy spot to curl up with a friend for a game of nine men’s morrice.  You can visit the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum, at Broadway and 204th Street in Manhattan, and still see the morrice game board.  Click here http://www.osv.org/morris/ to play Nine Men's Morrice on-line at Old Sturbridge Village.

To play Nine Men's Morrice with a friend, you will need the following materials:

1 large sheet of paper

a marker or dark pen

18 playing pieces, 9 of one color, 9 of another.

To make the board you must:

1.     Lay the paper out flat on the floor or a table.

2.     Draw three squares, one inside the other

3.     Draw a line connecting the corners and sides of the squares.

To play the game:

1.   Player “A” places one piece on the board on one of the intersections.

2.   Player “B” places a piece on the board, also on an intersection.  Both players continue taking turns.

3.   Whenever a player gets three of his pieces in a row, he may take one of the other player’s pieces.

4.   When all 18 of the pieces have been placed on the intersections, the players begin to move their pieces from one intersection to another - one intersection at a time - trying to line up three pieces in a row.

5.   When a player has only two pieces left on the board, the game is over.  The player with the most pieces remaining on the board wins.