Three in a line is a mill: shoot one enemy cow. Cows inside a mill are safe until nothing else is left.
Play with a friend
Opening a sessionโฆ
Connectingโฆ Refreshing this page starts a new game and a new code.
About Morabaraba
Free online Morabaraba, the Southern African twelve men's morris. Place twelve cows, build mills of three, and shoot your opponent's herd down to two. Play an AI, a friend on one device, or a live opponent with a code.
Morabaraba is the Southern African member of the morris family, played on street corners and in schoolyards across South Africa, Lesotho and Botswana, traditionally with stones or bottle tops standing in for cows. Two things set it apart from the English nine men's morris: each side fields twelve cows instead of nine, and the board carries diagonals through the corners, which adds four extra mills and makes the corners far sharper than they look. Good players think in double mills, an arrangement where one cow shuttles back and forth closing a mill on every single turn, which wins games outright if your opponent cannot break it up in time.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is a mill?๏ผ
Three of your own cows in an unbroken straight line along one of the drawn lines. Closing one lets you remove an enemy cow immediately.
Why can't I shoot that cow?๏ผ
Cows standing inside a mill are protected. You may only take one when every remaining enemy cow is also in a mill.
How is this different from nine men's morris?๏ผ
Twelve cows a side instead of nine, and the board has diagonals through the four corners. That gives twenty possible mills rather than sixteen, so corner play matters far more.
What is flying?๏ผ
Once you are down to exactly three cows, your moves are no longer limited to neighbouring points. You may jump to any empty point, which gives a losing player a real chance to build one last mill.
Can I shuttle a cow to close the same mill repeatedly?๏ผ
Yes, and it is the strongest idea in the game. Moving a cow out and back closes the mill again and earns another shot, so a double mill wins quickly unless it is blocked.
How do I lose without being shot down?๏ผ
If it is your turn and none of your cows can move, you lose on the spot, even with plenty of cows still on the board.
Ready for more?
Dozens of free family and party games - no sign-up, no downloads.
Browse all games โ