Morabaraba

Materials

• The 24-point board with three nested squares and connected corners and midpoints
• 12 counters in each of two colours

How to play

1. Start on the empty board shown, with twelve counters each. Dark places first; alternate one placement. Three friendly counters along one line form a mill, allowing one opposing counter to be removed.
2. Do not remove from an opposing mill while another opposing counter outside a mill is available. Two simultaneous mills still remove only one counter. Captures never return.
3. After both players place all twelve, alternate moving one counter along a line to an adjacent empty point. Each new mill removes one opposing counter.
4. If moving a counter breaks one mill and forms another, that same counter may not return on your very next turn to reform the original mill.
5. A player reduced to three counters may move to any empty point. Reduce the opponent to two, or leave them unable to move, to win.
6. Once either side has three counters, ten moves by each player without a capture produce a draw. Change who starts next game.

Ways to adapt

Learning mills and captures in Nine Men’s Morris first makes the differences easier to understand.

Sources and references

• Mind Sports South Africa Generally Accepted Rules for Morabaraba ↗