Why 3 Man Morris?:
I had seen some Norse Rune Stone Artwork showing Viking ships with
the netlike rigging over the sail and thought it would make an excellent inspiration
for the 3 man morris game board. I chose 3 man Morris instead of the more
common 9 man morris for a few reasons. The first that the 3 man morris board
includes diagonal lines which the 9 man version does not have. The second
was that I rarely have heard of folks in the SCA playing the 3 man version.
It seemed that despite its apparent simplicity that it might prove mentally
challenging just for that very simplicity.
Design:
I recalled seeing an image of a rune stone with a norse ship on it
and thought it an excellent start for the design of a game board. The images
I have on this page are ones I have collected today from the Web. When I
made the board, the internet as we know it was still a dream. (at least access
from home so quickly)
After I made the board I realized I hadn't any playing pieces. To
begin with I used coins. I considered somehow creating indentations on the
board at the intersections so I could use glass marbles, but really hadn't
access to any tool for that. Eventually I picked up some rounded glass pieces
from a stained glass shop and the do quite well. Perhaps I shall get dark
red and black ones some day to match the board.
Construction:
This project was pretty straight forward, even without access to
power tools.
First I went to the local lumber yard and told them what I was wanting
to make. I wanted a 1 foot section from a 1 foot wide board. They cut me a
1 foot section of some wood. Not sure if it is hardwood or softwood, but the
wood itself is soft enough to be easily marked.
I sanded the edges and then sealed a few places where it looked like
it might splinter using white glue. Then I laid out my board on the wood.
It is here that I learned how soft the surface was when I tried to erase
a line made in mistake. The line erased, but left an indentation. Perhaps
it would be better, in retrospect, to draw the pattern on paper and then transfer
it using some sort of carbon tracing method. Either you could use carbon
paper or apply graphite from a pencil to the back of the sheet and then gently
trace the pattern onto the wood.
I used Floquil acrylic paint that I normally used in model and figure
painting and a fine brush.
I didn't have any sort of clear finish so I left it as is. In the
20 years since I completed the board it hasn't warped or split at all.
Traditionally I believe they used glass stones for markers.
I chose red and black for the primary colours on the board as they
seemed to me at the time to be favoured colours of the Norse men. I added
a stylized Raven and Thor's Hammer for decoration and balance.
I had some brush control problems with leaving negative space in
the design so I had to come up afterwards with as close a match as I could
get to the woods hue and shade. Over the decades though the wood has darkened
somewhat while the tan colour I sued now seems much lighter.
Conclusion:
I think the board turned out very well and in part it was due to
the inspiration of finding some period artwork to base the design on. I think
some day I might want to fashion a sack, pouch, or other container for the
stones.
Alternately, perhaps two sets of three shot glasses. :-)
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But, each player only has three stones. Once the second player
has placed their third stone the players alternate moving their stones from
spot to spot in order to create a mill, or a line of three stones in a row.
It is here that the game becomes perhaps a bit more sophisticated than naughts
and crosses.
