![]() One carving from Switzerland shows a board with a kind of small human figure placed at the centre of the board, which might be supposed to represent the spirit. Some have suggested that this is the origin of the protective function of these boards when carved onto walls, drawing evil spirits into the centre and trapping them there where they cannot cause any mischief. The shape of the board has often suggested a kind of prison or trap to many people, with the lines leading into the empty square in the centre of the board. The other interesting thing about these boards is their possible symbolic use. Once a player is reduced to 2 pieces, the game is over, and the other player has won. Once a player is reduced to just 3 pieces on the board, they are allowed to ‘fly’, which means they can move a piece to any vacant point on the board. It is perfectly OK, and a good strategy, to move a piece out of a mill and then back into the same row of three as many times as you like! Capturing an opponent’s piece in this phase is called ‘pounding’. The goal is still to form mills or rows of three of your pieces along the lines of the board. ![]() You can’t jump over other pieces, either your own or the other player’s. On your turn you can move one of your merels a single space along the lines of the board to an empty point. In the second part of the game, unlike in noughts and crosses, you start to move your pieces. Once all the pieces have been placed on the board, the second phase starts. If they make a row of three of their own merels, that is called a ‘mill’, and they can capture and remove one of their opponent’s pieces. In the first phase, the players take turns putting their merels onto the board, placing them on the ‘point’. The board is a grid made of three concentric squares joined by a cross, with 24 intersections or ‘points.’ Each player starts with 9 pieces, which are called merrills or merels. The game itself is a sort of advanced version of noughts and crosses. Some however suggest some deeper meaning or significance to the symbol of the Nine Men’s Morris Board, linking it with architectural theory or use as a magical symbol to ward off evil spirits! Some archaeologists suggest that they were carved when the stones were being shaped, played with, and then the stones were used in building afterwards. When these boards are discovered, they are sometimes carved so that they are placed vertically on the wall, making them impossible to play. It was also very popular in medieval England, and boards are often found carved on stones used in building – excavations at the Castle revealed a large piece of building stone with a Nine Men’s Morris board carved onto it, which is currently on display at the Great North Museum Hancock. The game dates back at least to the days of the Roman Empire and is still played today. Nine Men’s Morris is the name traditionally given in England to a very ancient boardgame sometimes also called “Mills” or “Merrills”.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |