Mill: nine men's morris against the computer
Mill in Games by Zaweba is nine men's morris on an inlaid wooden board: place and move your men, form mills to take the computer's men, then fly with three.
Mill is nine men's morris, one of the oldest board games still played, set on an inlaid wooden board. In Games by Zaweba you play against the computer, and the game sits on the Board games shelf. Each side has nine men, and the aim is to form mills, lines of three, and use them to take the computer's men away.
If you have never played, it is a lovely discovery. The rules are short, but the game has a shape to it, with an opening, a middle and an end that each feel different.
Placing the men
Each side starts with nine men off the board. Players take turns placing them on the points of the board, one at a time. Even at this stage you can make a mill: three of your men in a row along a line.
Moving and making mills
Once all the men are placed, the game changes. Now, on your turn, you move one of your men along a line to the next empty point.
Whenever you form a mill, by placing or by moving, you may take one of the computer's men off the board. You cannot take a man that is part of a mill, unless all of the computer's men are in mills.
When a player is down to only three men, a new rule comes in. Those men may fly, moving to any empty point on the board rather than just the next one along a line. That gives a player who is losing a last burst of freedom.
You win by leaving the computer with two men, or with no move at all.
Placing, moving and taking
Click a point to place a man. To move, click one of your men and then the point it should go to. After you make a mill, click one of the computer's men to take it. Right-click cancels if you change your mind.
Strategy in the placing stage
It is tempting to rush for a mill while placing your men. But a mill made early can leave your men bunched in a corner, with no room to move later. Spreading out to points where several lines cross gives you far more options once the moving stage begins.
Keep an eye on the computer's placements. When it has two men on a line with the third point empty, it is threatening a mill. Placing a man there blocks it.
Strategy in the moving stage
The strongest pattern is a mill you can open and close. If you can move a man out of a mill and back again, you form a new mill each time you return, taking a man every other turn. Setting one up is often the turning point of a game.
Mobility matters as much as mills. A side that cannot move loses, so be careful not to block your own men in. Equally, if the computer's men are hemmed in, pressing them further can win without needing more mills.
When the computer is down to three men and starts flying, its men can appear anywhere. Check every open line where it has two men before each move, since it no longer needs a path to reach the third point.
A game for a slow evening
Mill in Games by Zaweba rewards patience and careful thought. There is no clock, so take your time. Esc pauses, F1 brings back the rules, and your wins against the computer are counted on the game's tile in the library. It sits alongside Draughts on the Board games shelf, another wooden board game with a long history.
