Triples Official Rules

Also called Nine Men's Morris, Marelles, Marels, Marrills, Merelles, Mérelles, Merels, Merreles, Merrels, Merrelus, Merrills, Meuhle, Mills, Morell, Morelles, Morris, Mühle, Muller, Mylla, Mylta, Mynek, and 9 Men's Morris.

Background
The rules below are from the World Merrills Association. However, since rules vary from country to country, Smart Box Design's version of Nine Men's Morris allows you to customize gameplay based on the rules used in your country!

Object
There are two ways to win:

1. Reduce the number of your opponent's pieces to two; OR
2. Block all of your opponent's pieces so your opponent cannot move.

You want to make a mill: three pieces of the same color in a row along a vertical or horizontal straight line. (Three pieces along a diagonal line does not count as a mill.) When a player makes a mill, that player can remove any opponent's piece that is not in a mill.

Placing Phase
The player to go first is randomly selected. (From the Options menu, you can choose to always go first.)

To start the game, tap an empty spot to place one of your pieces on the board. With each turn, try to make a mill (three of your pieces in a row, vertically or horizontally) or block your opponent from making a mill.

Each time you make a mill, you can capture one of your opponent's pieces. Tap the piece you want to capture. Typically, you can only capture pieces not in a mill. (From the Options menu, you can change this rule.)

The placing phase lasts until both players have placed all nine of their pieces on the board. A piece cannot be moved until all nine pieces have been placed.

Moving Phase
After all nine pieces have been placed on the board, you must move one of your pieces to an empty adjacent spot. Try to make a mill and/or prevent your opponent from moving pieces.

When a player is reduced to three pieces, that player can 'jump' a piece to any open spot on the board. (From the Options menu, you can change this rule.)

Knowing the rules is only the first step. Your next move is to learn some strategies--and start outsmarting your opponent.

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