Nine Men’s Morris or Thirty-One?

The key differences

• From 3 players on, only Thirty-One works: it goes up to 9 players, Nine Men’s Morris only up to 2.
• Nine Men’s Morris rewards skill more than Thirty-One (pure skill vs. skill and luck).
• Thirty-One is louder than Nine Men’s Morris (lively vs. silent).
• Nine Men’s Morris works from age 6, we recommend Thirty-One from 8.
• In Thirty-One everyone has secret information on their phone; in Nine Men’s Morris more is out in the open.
• Nine Men’s Morris is one of the Board and dice games, Thirty-One one of the Card games.

At a glance

At a glance	Nine Men’s Morris	Thirty-One
Type	Board and dice games	Card games
Players	2 players	2–9 players
Length of a game	10–20 min	10–20 min
Age	ages 6+	ages 8+
Luck or skill	pure skill	skill and luck
Noise level	silent	lively
Learning curve	quick to learn	quick to learn
Interaction	you react to each other	you react to each other
TV	not needed	not needed
Against the computer	yes	yes
Teams	no	no
Bluffing	no	no
Reading needed	no	no

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.

Thirty-One

Three cards in your hand, three in the middle: swap until one suit gets as close to 31 as you can. Whoever knocks ends the round – and the worst hand then loses a life.

Pick Thirty-One when a bigger group wants a fast card game with a bit of a thrill.

What they have in common

• Both only work with exactly 2 players.
• Both also work without a TV, right on iPhone, iPad or Mac.
• You can play both against the computer.
• Both come free with Gather and need no account.