hist-games: Morris

[Mats Winther]

The simplest morris (merels) games, like three-men morris, and 'nine
holes', don't make much sense to me. They are as inspiring as
Tic-Tac-Toe. So how come these games have been depicted everywhere; in
medieval churches, in Indian and Egyptian temples? At Westminster
Abbey there's a 'nine holes' pattern that shows every sign of much
use. But I've studied these games and, unlike nine-men morris, they
seem almost silly. Still, they were immensely popular during the
antiquities and medieval times. Can anybody explain this? Were there
additional rules that we don't know about today? I've tried dozens of
amendments and added jumping capability, etc., but nothing can infuse
life into these games. It's a mystery.

Mats