Nine Men's Morris

Mill in Switzerland ( = nine stones) also called Nünistei, is a board game for two players. The game board consists of three squares within each other with connecting lines in the middle of each side. As pawns nine black and nine white round, flat pieces are usually used, which are usually made of wood or plastic. Other colors are also possible.

The aim of the game is to hit either by the formation of so-called mills (three separate pieces in a row ) so much opposing pieces that the opponent retaining only two stones left, or to block the remaining on the board opponent's stones in such a way that the opponent can not move.

General

Mill is a random free game with perfect information, that is, both players always have the same information about the previous game. In addition, the mill is a fair game: It was demonstrated that neither wins nor necessarily to the second player. At the same strong experienced opponents the game often ends in a draw, therefore, with the subsequently immigrating player is in contrast to chess at an advantage because he can put the last stone on the board. The player can subsequently immigrating calculate a possible tight spot when setting the last stone.

Back in 1993, the play by Ralph Gasser at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich ) was first dissolved completely, the game always ends draw if neither player makes a mistake. Unlike many other combination of games, it is feasible with today's available computing capacity, fully map the set of all possible positions ( problem space ) in a database. The actual game is for each player in the search for a possible short or original path through this problem space, and therefore can be compared with objective data. So on the one hand reduced services and logical errors can be seen, but it is also possible to control programs that perform under various parameter a near-perfect play - in terms of the (known ) effective solution for each situation. As for the gaming experience but also individual style, traditions, tricky Asked traps or surprising creative solutions are valued, the quality of a program is measured among players not only to its logical stringency.

Thus, the computer scientist Peter Stahlhacke has fully charged the game on his home computer. The 17 GB database with all positions was published on the gaming site Inetplay as the perfect mill gambling program Mr. Data. A game also very strong program Mühle24 of the mill game club Bern is also widespread. It plays more offensive than Mr. Data, but is not infallible and has a currently (Oct. 2011) outdated graphic design on. In contrast, it is appreciated for stunning and unexpected moves, bring the experienced players in trouble.

Compared to the game of chess mill is much variation poorer. While at Chess, the number of theoretically possible positions is estimated to be 2.28 · 1046, there are only about 1.8 · 1010 different (not convertible by rotations, reflections or swapping the inner and outer ring into each other ) positions at the mill. The number of mill positions corresponding to the size of the mill database in which for each position of a byte is used to store the number of trains to win. According to evidence at the ETH Zurich from 1992 to 1994, there are 9 billion positions without Zugwiederholungen and 128 billion with Zugwiederholungen. Mill is not a trivial game: The opposite position corresponds to the position with the longest winning distance. Red on train wins in 165 full trains with perfect play both colors. This example shows that for red a safe path exists through the problem space, even if the opponent makes a mistake. As a rule, however, players leave safe paths to later return it or to find another path.

History

The age of the mill game in Europe is not known. While drawing a game as Bronze Age grave goods in Cr Bri Chualann in Wicklow (Ireland ) have been found, but they are all supporting documents regarding the archaeological excavation has been lost, and therefore this claim by scientists is today considered unreliable.

From the 11th to the 18th century, the mill was one of the game 's most popular board games in Europe. It was not until the early 19th century mill was gradually displaced by the game of chess.

Game play

The game takes place in three phases:

• Settling phase: Players take turns placing a stone each, a total of nine, on crossings or corners of the board
• Pull phase: The pieces are drawn, that is, per round, each player may move a piece to an adjacent, free hub. If a player can not move a stone, so he has lost.
• Final phase: Once a player has only three stones, he can jump with his stones, that is, he must now jump per round with a stone on any available node. Once another brick is removed him, he has lost the game.

Three stones of one color, which lie side by side in a straight line on fields, called a " mill ". If a player closes a mill, he may take any of the opponent's stone out of the game, provided that this stone is not also part of a mill. The official tournament rules permit since 2010, hitting a stone from a closed mill, if the opponent only has stones in closed mills. Regional and partly also in commercially marketed products, but this is handled differently.

Strategy

In particular, during the initial phase of the game is less important to early to form mills, but rather to ensure a high mobility of its stones. Thus, the four intersection points of the mill board are preferred to be filled, while the vertices are to be avoided. It is also when hitting a stone usually better to open an additional own mill, as to prevent an opponent's mill.

Especially desirable are the following situations: The red stones form a so-called " dilemma ", which means that the red player can close a mill at each round. This allows him to decimate the opponent's stones quickly, without that it can take an effective countermeasure.

A common strategy is the center of the mill. It consists in quickly to strive as attractive player a mill on the middle ring. White tries to occupy two of the central points of intersection, and then the corner between these crossing points. He threatens simultaneously with two open mills. Experienced Black players counter by also occupy the first two stones intersections. This strategy results in optimal play both counterparties to draw. Since such a game is, however, difficult to understand, and both players are therefore prone to error, the game ends in practice relatively frequently with the victory of the player.

Tournament beings

World - mill game 's governing body (WMD )

The tournament is being controlled by the world - mill game 's governing body, short WMD. It constitutes not only the exact rules of the game, but also regulates the Tournament schedule. As in chess is played on a large number of participants according to the Swiss system and with a small number of participants vollrundig ( all against all ). To keep the number of tied games at a minimum, is generally played with timelines. Depending on the number of rounds is played with 5, 7 or 10 minutes thinking time per player per round, with chess clocks are used to control. The aim of WMD is to promote the mill game world. Active sites are located in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Italy and Poland (February 2008).

Title

The WMD awards similar to chess two different titles: The Grandmaster title (GM) and the Champion title (MM). Twenty tournament victories are required for the Grandmaster title, which must be obtained at least ten without a single defeat. 15 podiums are required for the champion title. Tournaments are only counted if they are previously announced the WMD and meet certain requirements to participants and number of laps. As of February 2008, there are four major champions and 20 champions. The Grand Masters are Markus Schaub as a dominant personality from 1982 to 1992, Alain Flury, Manfred Nüscheler and Adrian Wenger.

Championships

The WMD has been held since 1996, a European Championship. Until 2004, this was respectively on the steering place in Switzerland, from 2005 to 2008 in Passau, 2009 at Seeon Seebruck am Chiemsee and since 2010 in Munich. With eleven tracks GM Alain Flury (CH) is the most successful player. More European champions GM Adrian Wenger ( Switzerland, two titles ), GM Mark Schaub ( Switzerland, a title ), Jakub Borlik (Poland, a title ), Matthias Lorenz ( Germany, a title), and Karl -Heinz Andraschko ( Germany, a title ).

From 1987 to 1997 World Cup was held in England Hutton -Le- Hole. With four titles leader is Andy Fawbert MM ( United Kingdom ). Depending on a title to show: MM Mike Sunley ( United Kingdom), MM Anthony Eddon ( United Kingdom), MM Raymond Thompson ( UK), MM Eric Weldon ( United Kingdom), GM Mark Schaub ( Switzerland ), GM Adrian Wenger ( Switzerland ) and MM Franz Beyeler ( Switzerland ).

Voluntary Sector

There are in Switzerland two mill Match Clubs: 1974 originated in the French-speaking Switzerland the Club de Charret de Granges- Marnand. This club organized together with club tournaments also toured the West Switzerland, where MM Angelo Fuschetto the scene in western Switzerland to this day largely dominated. 1978 was the mill game club Bern. This club has produced with Hans Schürmann, Markus Schaub, Manfred Nüscheler, Alain Flury and Adrian Wenger so strong mill player that almost all major international tournaments were won from 1996 by this club.

Various attempts to establish a club with regular meetings in Germany were unsuccessful, so the best players duel each over the Internet.

Internet platforms

The mill game has benefited from the internet boom of recent years. There are countless Internet platforms on which the mill can be played.

Variants

• Lasker- mill with two rule changes: (1) The two phases are not separated, that is, it is the players are free to move a piece or to place a stone. ( 2) It is played with ten stones.
• There are also game variants, in which the three squares of the game board are replaced by regular five-or six corner. The number of tokens per player then increases to 11 or 13, the rules remain the same otherwise.
• Also there are two variants that shift the mill game into the third dimension: When space mill trying to get on 4x4 rods a series of four balls. The rules are similar to wins in four. In the variant " cube mill " there are three nested cubes, which are connected by rods that each side of the largest cube forms a mill board. Well played simultaneously to almost six mill boards. The rules are similar to those of the classic mill game. The number of tokens is, however, increased to 18 and from seven remaining tiles must be jumped.
• The wheel-type mill pictured above (also circular mill) is a Roman version, which was played with only three stones per player. Who first owned a mill, had won.
• The mentioned three mill had as Neuner mill also nine match points, but lacked the two diagonals. It was played with only three stones per player.