A strange little side quest
Even a quick game like Nine Men's Morris sits on top of decades — and sometimes centuries — of ideas. Modern chess traces back to the Indian game chaturanga, recorded around the sixth century and built around pieces representing parts of an army. Another piece of context lands nicely beside it: Atari's Gran Trak 10 from 1974 is recognized as the first arcade racing video game. So a round of Nine Men's Morris is not just a quick distraction; it is a tiny stop on a much longer strategy games timeline.
