MERELS
Merels was the Latin name for Nine Mens Morris, an extension of Three Mens Morris. Three Mens Morris is considered to be a variation of Tic-Tac-Toe and Terni Lapilli. Boards for these games have been found in ancient Egypt as early as 1440 BC, ancient Troy and Athens, a Bronze Age site in Ireland, and in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) that date to about 10 AD. Some sources state this game was played in China as early as 500 BC.
Also Known as Mill or Morris in English and as Mérelles in French, Morels in Spanish, Mühle in German, Mølle in Norwegian, Luk Tsut Ki in China and Linea in Italy. As for the English names, it is believed they are derivations of the French word "merel" which means marker and a corruption of the word "Moor", the name of the Arabic people from North Africa.
For more on Merels see some of the excellent websites below.
members.aol.com/farisles/guilds/merels.htm www2.kumc.edu/itc/staff/rknight/Game4.htm www.mastersgames.com/rules/morris-rules.htm www.yorkcitylevy.com/ home.att.net/~Sniper.7R/HD/ninemensmorris/ninemensmorris.htm
