MorrisTalkPlay freeEnglish · Deutsch · Magyar · Français
MorrisTalk › Learn Morris › Morris board: how to draw it
Morris board: how to draw it
You do not need to buy a Morris board. Vikings cut them into ship planks, medieval builders scratched them on cloister seats, and children still chalk them on pavements. You can draw one on a sheet of paper in a minute.
What a Morris board is
The Nine Men's Morris board is a diagram of three squares, one inside the other, joined by four straight lines running from the middle of each side of the outer square to the middle of the matching side of the inner square. The men sit on the 24 points where lines meet: the four corners and four side-midpoints of each of the three squares. There is no point in the centre, and the middle of the board is empty.
Draw it in five steps
- Draw a large square. This is the outer square. A 12 cm side suits a sheet of paper.
- Draw a second square inside it, centred, with a side about two thirds as long (8 cm).
- Draw a third square inside that, with a side one third of the outer (4 cm).
- Draw four lines through the middles of the four sides, each one running from the outer square to the inner square, passing through the middle square. Do not cross the middle of the board.
- Mark the 24 points with a dot or a small circle: each corner of each square, and each place a connecting line meets a side.
The gaps between the squares should be equal, so that the connecting lines are all the same length between squares. That is the whole board.
Points and neighbours
| Point type | Number | Neighbours |
|---|---|---|
| Corner of any square | 12 | 2 |
| Side-midpoint of the outer or inner square | 8 | 3 |
| Side-midpoint of the middle square | 4 | 4 |
That last row explains why the four middle-square crossroads are the strongest points to hold: a man there has the most room to move. Read more in the strategy guide.
The 16 possible mills
There are sixteen lines of three points: twelve on the sides of the three squares (four per square), and four along the connecting lines. A mill needs three of your men on one of those sixteen lines.
Tips for a good home-made board
Use a ruler for the squares and draw the points large enough for a coin to cover them. If you are making a board to keep, mark the points with a drilled hole or a painted circle, so a man cannot rest half on a line. On a large board used outdoors, chalk or a stick in sand works as well as paint, and the same plan can be scaled up until people stand on the points and play as the men themselves.
Six and Twelve Men's boards
- Six Men's Morris: draw only two squares and the four connecting lines. That is 16 points.
- Twelve Men's Morris: draw the standard board and add four diagonal lines from the corner of the outer square to the corner of the inner square, passing through the corner of the middle square. Still 24 points.
See the Six and Twelve Men's Morris guide for the rules.
Making it a real game
The men can be anything that comes in two kinds: coins, buttons, pebbles, beans or the lids of two different drinks. A permanent board can be carved in wood, scratched in paving, or printed on a mat. In old English cathedrals you can still find boards cut into cloister seats, and the Vikings left theirs on ship planks. Those boards were scratched deep, not drawn.
Or skip all this and play on a board that is already drawn: MorrisTalk's board is free in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
How many points are on a Nine Men's Morris board?
Twenty-four: eight on each of the three squares (the four corners and the four side-midpoints).
How big should a Morris board be?
There is no standard. Any size works as long as the three squares are evenly spaced; 12, 8 and 4 cm sides on a sheet of paper are comfortable for coins as men.
Is there a point in the middle of the board?
No. The four connecting lines stop at the inner square, and the centre of the board is empty.