Connect 4
2 players · ~5 min
Mill
Your opponentAppears when the match starts
YouForm a mill to remove an opponent stone
Play Mill online for free, without signing up
Play Mill, the classic two-player strategy game also called Nine Men's Morris, right here in your browser: against friends on a private invite link, against a random opponent, or against the computer. There is nothing to download and no sign-up: we create a free guest account for you when you start. Pick a mode above, on a phone, a tablet or a desktop.
The rules in brief
- Setting phase: take turns placing your nine stones on empty points.
- Moving phase: once all stones are placed, move one stone to an adjacent empty point each turn.
- Line up three stones on a marked line to form a mill and remove one of your opponent's stones (mills are protected unless every opponent stone is in one).
- Flying phase: once you are down to exactly three stones, you may jump to any empty point.
- Win by reducing your opponent to fewer than three stones, or leaving them with no legal move.
Three ways to play Mill online
- Mill with a friend
- Open a private game and send the invite link by message. Whoever opens it lands on your board, with no registration on either side. You set the move time beforehand: 30, 60 or 120 seconds.
- Mill against a random opponent
- Join the public queue and you are matched with someone else looking for a game right now. Moves here have a fixed 60 second clock. How fast it starts depends on who is online.
- Mill against the computer
- Three levels: Easy only rates its next move and picks loosely among the good ones, Medium also weighs your reply, so it closes its mills and blocks yours, Hard looks up to four moves ahead with a limited search and can still be beaten. You choose the move time, or play with no limit at all. Games against the computer do not count towards your rating or achievements.
Your advantages on Boardgames.io
- Play without signing up
- Start with a free guest account and play at once. Your rating, achievements and match history stay in the same browser. A registered account keeps them across devices and puts you on the leaderboard.
- Every mode is free
- Friends, random opponents, every bot level and the leaderboard: there is no paid tier and no locked feature.
- No ads in the game
- No banner beside the board, no video before the match, no overlay between two moves. The board keeps the screen to itself.
- Built for the browser
- The board scales to a phone screen, moves arrive live on both sides, and in every game with a time limit a move clock keeps it from stalling.
Frequently asked questions about Mill
- What happens when the move time runs out?
- The game is lost and your opponent wins. Against a random opponent you have 60 seconds per move, in private games the time the host chose. Against the computer you can play without a clock.
- What is saved when I play as a guest?
- Your guest account stays in the browser for 90 days. Rating, achievements and match history are attached to it and remain as long as you use the same browser and do not clear its data. Guests do not appear on the public leaderboard; that takes a registered account, which carries your progress over.
- Can two people play on one device?
- No. Every game runs between two devices. Send the invite link to the other player, even if you are in the same room.
- What happens if someone leaves the game?
- Leaving the game inside the app asks for confirmation and then resigns, so the opponent wins. Closing the tab or losing the connection keeps the move clock running; return within the time and the game continues, otherwise the game is lost on time.
- Do my games count for the leaderboard?
- Games against people count towards your rating, games against the computer never do. Only registered accounts appear on the public leaderboard.
- Are Mill and Nine Men's Morris the same game?
- Yes. Mill, Nine Men's Morris and the German Mühle all describe the same board of 24 points on three nested squares, nine stones per player and the same goal of closing mills.