Nine Men’s Morris or Cover Word?

The key differences

• There’s no player count that suits both – Nine Men’s Morris and Cover Word are made for different groups.
• From 3 players on, only Cover Word works: it goes up to 12 players, Nine Men’s Morris only up to 2.
• Cover Word needs a TV, or an iPad or Mac as the table; Nine Men’s Morris also runs on phones alone.
• Cover Word is louder than Nine Men’s Morris (loud vs. silent).
• Cover Word needs at least 4 players – with fewer people, only Nine Men’s Morris works.
• Only Nine Men’s Morris can be played against the computer – Cover Word needs real players.
• Cover Word has more interaction than Nine Men’s Morris (constant debate vs. you react to each other).
• Nine Men’s Morris works from age 6, we recommend Cover Word from 10.

At a glance

At a glance	Nine Men’s Morris	Cover Word
Type	Board and dice games	Party games
Players	2 players	4–12 players
Length of a game	10–20 min	15–30 min
Age	ages 6+	ages 10+
Luck or skill	pure skill	mostly skill
Noise level	silent	loud
Learning curve	quick to learn	quick to learn
Interaction	you react to each other	constant debate
TV	not needed	needed
Against the computer	yes	no
Teams	no	yes
Bluffing	no	no
Reading needed	no	yes

Which one suits you?

Nine Men’s Morris

The old board game with nine pieces each: place, then move, and finally fly. Close a mill and you take one of your opponent’s pieces – and a well-built double mill often decides the game.

Pick Nine Men’s Morris when two people want a calm strategy game that’s settled in about a quarter of an hour.

Cover Word

Two teams, 25 words on the TV, and only the clue givers know which belong to whom. One word and one number have to steer their team to several cards – and away from the trap.

Pick Cover Word when there are at least four of you and you enjoy lateral thinking.

What they have in common

• Both come free with Gather and need no account.