Nine men's morris is a strategy board game for two players dating at least to the Roman Empire.

In North America, the game has also been called cowboy checkers, and its board is sometimes printed on the back of checkerboards.

Players continue to try to form mills and remove the opponent's pieces as in phase one.

[4] Flying was introduced to compensate when the weaker side is one man away from losing the game.

The players put one man on the board in each of their first three plays, winning if a mill is formed (as in tic-tac-toe).

[13] The game was popular in Italy, France and England during the Middle Ages but was obsolete by 1600.

This variation on the game is popular amongst rural youth in South Africa where it is known as morabaraba and is now recognized as a sport in that country.

This variant (also called ten men's morris) was invented by Emanuel Lasker, chess world champion from 1894 to 1921.

[14] According to R. C. Bell, the earliest known board for the game includes diagonal lines and was "cut into the roofing slabs of the temple at Kurna in Egypt"; he estimated a date for them of c. 1400 BCE.

[15] On the other hand, the earliest known board for the game certainly can be dated before the Common Era,[16] as this article shall explain subsequently.

It is a bad thing for a woman not to know how to play, for love often comes into being during play.Berger believes the game was "probably well known by the Romans", as there are many boards on Roman buildings, even though dating them is impossible because the buildings "have been easily accessible" since they were built.

[4] A brick found on a mediaeval site near Wisbech, had been used by the brickmakers as a board before being fired.

[17] Boards have been found carved into the cloister seats at the English cathedrals at Canterbury, Gloucester, Norwich, Salisbury and Westminster Abbey.

In Shakespeare's 16th century work A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania refers to such a board: "The nine men's morris is filled up with mud".

In some European countries, the design of the board was given special significance as a symbol of protection from evil.