Mill Strategy

I'm very happy with my set. Some people have complained that the marble colors are too similar to differentiate, but mine were noticeably different colors, so maybe this issue has been fixed?

This may be our family's favorite game for 2015. Simple, but not simple! Crazy how an old game like this is still be good after centuries!It is so good for learning strategy, thinking ahead, trial and error. I am finding these old games are so good for teaching our kids - better than many modern games and way better than video games. Our 3 kids love playing it together and forget about Minecraft and Clash of Clans for a while!Imagine a life without electricity. What would your kids do? Complain? You need this game!

I've played this game under many names, including Nine Men's Morris and International Muhle. It's very easy to learn, but the strategy is what makes it suitable for all ages. This version, Mill Strategy, is a nice wood board, small enough to be portable in a beach bag, large enough to be usable by anyone, whether young children with clumsy hands or elderly people with arthritic fingers. It comes with a little bag to hold the marbles. It could have been made better if A) they used black and white marbles instead of light silver and medium silver, and B) they created a little drawer to hold the marbles and instruction sheet instead of a bag that might easily become separated from the board. The colors of the marbles don't make sense at all; you need really good light to be able to tell them apart. Anyone playing outdoors while wearing sunglasses will be at a complete loss. It can only be played by two players at a time, like chess, checkers and Othello, and it has something in common with those three games as far as strategy. For people who normally rely on high-tech video games, I recommend this one as a refreshing change of pace that really exercises your brain.

The picture on the email asking for a review shows the problem. In that picture and in the ones in the companies adds, the marbles of each player look quite different. This requires some kind of special lighting. In most normal lighting, it is very difficult to tell the two sets apart.It is also confusing to get substitutes. The originals are bigger than what I think are standard Chinese Checker marbles, which I think go with many ball tracks. My grandsons have a Haba track and the marbles in that fit perfectly.The board is excellent when used with the correct size marbles. The company has a very good policy about getting replacement marbles, but should also sell, or at least tell one where they can get color distinct marbles that fit.It is a common game, and rules are readily available. There are some differences, but the rules that came with this board have a feature that I have never seen anywhere else. I have not had a chance to try that out, but I think it would make a game considerably longer. I cannot predict whether it would make it more or less interesting.

This game is very fun but why in the world are the colors so close. The marbles are white and blue but I couldn't tell what color my opponents was. Red or green would be a good color. I wouldn't recommend this product to anyone because of the confusion. Unless they have choice in color