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This game is ancient enough to have been known by the Romans and Vikings, but found its heyday in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. As it were, it would be known to all walks of life in seventeenth century England, but would probably be considered out of fashion by those who worried about such things. Still, the common folk would probably have regarded it as a fine old game.
Two players participate. Each starts with nine counters, called men, of distinctive color. The board is normally made of wood, although drawn on paper or even in the dirt would serve in a pinch. At the start of the game each player places one of his men on any vacant point on the board, until all nine men on both sides have been placed; the games then begins with each player taking turn to move any of his men to an adjacent point. The intention is to get three of your own men into a horizontal or vertical line. This is known as a "mill" and may be formed during placement or in play. The player forming the "mill" may immediately remove one of his opponent's men from the board. The object is to clear the board of your opponents pieces. However, when removing an opponent's piece, you may not take the captured man from a mill, unless there are no other men available. A mill may be broken up and reformed any number of times, and each new formation entitles the forming player to remove another of his opponent's men. A player has lost when he has only two men left, and is therefore unable to form a mill. Alternatively, if a player's men are hemmed in such a way as to prevent movement, he has lost. There is an optional rule that allows a player who has only three men left to move a man to any open space on the board, whether adjacent or not. This increased mobility has the effect of evening the odds in favor of the losing player, and experienced players will probably prefer to ignore this rule. |
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© Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 & 2002 The English Civil War Society of America. All rights reserved.
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