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Three-in-a-Row Games from around the World

Many people familiar with tic-tac-toe or "naughts and crosses". The African games vary in difficulty. The Morris games are from England. The African game with 12 pebbles for each player is sometimes called African Morris. These can all be played with pebbles in the dirt, beans or buttons on a paper and pencil drawing or on an elaborate board with hand blown glass marbles. The mathematical thinking required to play these games is all the same.

Tic-tac-toe

Rules for the African Games

Players alternately place one of their pieces onto the vertices of the playing board. When all pieces are placed, players continue to play by moving a piece to a vacant vertex. The game ends when one player gets three of their pieces in a row.

African three-in-a-row-games

Rules for Six and Nine Mans Morris

Phase One

Play starts just as in the African Games. However, if a player places three pieces in a row (called a mill) she or he removes one of the opponent's pieces but not one which is itself in a mill.

Phase Two

When all pieces have been placed, players continue to play by moving a piece to an adjacent vertex. If one player forms a mill again one of the opponent's pieces are removed.

Phase Three

When one player has only three pieces left, that player is allowed to move a piece to any vacant point. The game ends when one player is either blocked from moving or reduced to two pieces.

Six Mans Morris	Nine Mans Morris

References

Zaslavsky, C. (1973). Africa Counts, 172-189, Boston: Prindle, Weber & Schmidt.
Zaslavsky, C. (1982). Tic-Tac-Toe and Other Three-in-a-Row Games, Toronto: Crowell.

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