Medieval Mill Game (Mill Board)

Medieval Mill Game (Mill Board) This is a very well known game of Trojan or Phoenician origin, enjoyed by many in ancient Rome and gained even more popularity during the medieval period of Europe where the game’s name is derived.

Two players are required for this game and it’s played on a square board which is made up of 24 intersecting points created intersecting lines. Each player receives nine identical colored game pieces different in color from that of his opponent.

Once it is determined who will begin the game, players will take turns moving their game pieces to empty intersecting points in an attempt to create a ‘mill’ (three in a row.) a mill can be either vertical or horizontal but diagonal is forbidden.

Your objective in this game is to successfully remove a minimum of 7 game pieces belonging to your opponent and thus, leaving him with only two since three is required to make a mill. The action begins once the game pieces have been set up and with every mill created, that player can choose to take any one of his opponent’s pieces off the table.

Players can move their game pieces from any intersecting adjacent point to a point that is free as long as the point is not in a horizontal direction. At all times during the game it is best to look to close on a mill to begin removing your opponent’s pieces from the table. When a mill is formed, its pieces cannot be moved unless there are only three pieces left. At which point they can be moved onto any adjacent point.

A variation of this game that many might find interesting is to allow diagonal moves and diagonal mills to be formed. This allows for many more possibilities with combinations of moves and ways in which to win the hand. With this type of variation it is best to leave out the jumping rule.

Another option is to add the ability of the king to ‘jump’ either your own or your opponent’s game piece when it is situated in an adjacent position and has the possibility of landing in and empty square. The jumped pieces are not however, taken when they have been jumped and the formation of mills is still the only process by which game pieces can be taken.

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