🟢🔴 Twelve Men’s Morris for Kids – The Classic Mill Board Game with Diagonals!
Twelve Men’s Morris is one of the most exciting versions of the classic Morris family of board games! Also known as Twelve-Man Mills, Larger Merels, or Morabaraba, this brilliant two-player strategy game takes everything you love about Nine Men’s Morris and makes it bigger and more challenging. With 12 pieces per player and diagonal lines connecting the corners of the board, there are even more ways to form mills and capture your opponent’s pieces! Play this free online Twelve Men’s Morris game for kids right here in your browser — on any device!
🤔 What Is Twelve Men’s Morris?
Twelve Men’s Morris is a two-player strategy board game played on the same board as Nine Men’s Morris — three nested squares (also called rings) connected by lines — but with one important difference: diagonal lines are added connecting the corners of each ring! This creates four extra lines across the board, giving you more paths and more ways to form mills. Each player starts with 12 pieces (called men or counters) instead of nine.
The board still has 24 points (intersections), and the goal is the same: form mills (three pieces in a row along any line) to capture your opponent’s pieces. But with more pieces on the board and diagonal connections at every corner, the game is more complex and strategic than its nine-piece cousin!
📋 How to Play Twelve Men’s Morris – Step by Step
The game is played in three phases, just like Nine Men’s Morris:
Phase 1 – Placing
- Players take turns placing one piece at a time on any empty point on the board.
- Green always goes first.
- Each player places all 12 pieces during this phase (24 turns total).
- If you form a mill (three in a row along a line — including diagonals!) while placing, you immediately get to remove one of your opponent’s pieces!
Phase 2 – Moving (Sliding)
- Once all pieces are on the board, players take turns sliding one of their pieces along a line to an adjacent empty point.
- You can move along straight lines and along the diagonal lines at the corners.
- Every time you form a new mill, you remove one of your opponent’s pieces.
- You can break a mill (move a piece out) and then re-form it on a later turn to capture again!
Phase 3 – Flying
- When a player is down to only 3 pieces, that player’s pieces can fly — they can move to any empty point on the board, not just adjacent ones.
- Flying gives the weaker player a powerful comeback chance!
🏆 How to Win
- Reduce your opponent to 2 pieces so they can no longer make a mill.
- Or block all of your opponent’s pieces so they have no legal moves on their turn.
🚫 Removing Pieces (Capture Rules)
When you form a mill and get to remove an opponent’s piece, there are important rules:
- You cannot remove a piece that is part of a mill — unless all of your opponent’s pieces are in mills. In that case, you can remove any piece.
- Removed pieces are taken off the board permanently — they don’t come back!
↗️ What Makes Twelve Men’s Morris Different from Nine Men’s Morris?
- More pieces: 12 per player instead of 9, so the board is much more crowded.
- Diagonal lines: Corners of adjacent squares are connected diagonally, creating 4 extra possible mills.
- More mills possible: There are 20 possible mill lines instead of 16, making the game richer.
- More blocking: With 24 out of 24 points filled after placing, movement is tighter and more tactical.
- Deeper strategy: The diagonals add an extra layer of planning — you need to watch even more directions!
💡 Top Twelve Men’s Morris Tips for Kids
- Control the corners! Corners connect to diagonal lines as well as straight ones, making them the most powerful positions on the board. Grab them early!
- Use the diagonals! Diagonal mills catch many opponents by surprise. Watch for chances to line up three pieces across the corner connections.
- Set up double mills! A double mill (or seesaw) lets you capture a piece every single turn. They’re even more powerful in Twelve Men’s Morris because of the extra connections.
- Think about Phase 2 during Phase 1. Don’t just aim for mills while placing — plan where your pieces will slide once all 12 are down.
- Block opponent mills. If you spot your opponent setting up two in a row, place a piece to block them before they complete the mill!
- Don’t cluster. Spread your 12 pieces around the board so you have more sliding options later.
- Watch every direction. With diagonals, mills can form in more directions than in Nine Men’s Morris. Stay alert!
🧠 Why Twelve Men’s Morris Is Great for Your Brain
Playing Twelve Men’s Morris gives your brain an even bigger workout than Nine Men’s Morris! Here’s why:
- Strategic thinking: More pieces and more lines mean more possibilities to consider on every turn.
- Pattern recognition: With 20 possible mill lines (including diagonals), you need to spot patterns quickly.
- Spatial reasoning: The diagonal connections add a whole new dimension to the board, training your spatial skills.
- Decision-making: More choices means sharper decision-making — should you go for a diagonal mill or a straight one?
- Patience and planning: With 12 pieces to place, the opening phase is longer and rewards careful, long-term thinking.
🤖 AI Difficulty Levels Explained
Our computer opponent has three settings so everyone can find the right challenge:
- Easy: The AI makes simple moves and sometimes picks randomly. Great for learning the rules!
- Medium: The AI thinks a few moves ahead and plays solidly. A good match for most players!
- Hard: The AI uses advanced strategy — it controls corners, plans diagonal mills, and sets up double mills. Can you beat it?
📜 The History of Twelve Men’s Morris
Twelve Men’s Morris is part of the ancient Morris family of games (also called Merels or Mill games) that dates back thousands of years. While Nine Men’s Morris is the most well-known version, the twelve-piece variant has a rich history of its own:
- In Southern Africa, Twelve Men’s Morris is known as Morabaraba and is played at national championship level.
- The game appears in medieval European manuscripts alongside Nine Men’s Morris as a more advanced variant.
- The addition of diagonal lines is thought to have developed to make the game more engaging when played with more pieces.
- Related games include Three Men’s Morris (tic-tac-toe’s ancestor), Six Men’s Morris, Nine Men’s Morris, and even Lasker Morris (a modern variant).
📖 Twelve Men’s Morris Glossary
- Mill: Three pieces in a row along any line on the board (including diagonals).
- Men / Counters / Pieces: The playing pieces — each player has twelve.
- Point / Intersection: A spot on the board where lines meet. There are 24 points.
- Diagonal: A line connecting the corners of two adjacent rings.
- Placing phase: The first phase where players put all 12 pieces onto the board.
- Moving phase: The second phase where players slide pieces along lines (including diagonals).
- Flying phase: When a player has only 3 pieces left and can move to any empty point.
- Double mill / Seesaw / Running mill: Two mills sharing a piece, allowing a capture every turn.
- Morabaraba: The Southern African name for Twelve Men’s Morris.
- Corner / Junction: A point where diagonal and straight lines meet — the most powerful spots.