Terni Lapilli

Place three stones on the Roman wheel, then slide them point to point — the first to line up all three wins.

How to play

Terni Lapilli is an ancient Roman three-in-a-row game with a sliding twist that keeps it from ever stalling into a draw. Each side has just three stones. First you take turns placing them, then you shuffle them around the board hunting for a straight line of three down any row, column, or diagonal.

• Placement: take turns dropping one stone on an empty point — but the very first stone of the game may not be the centre.
• Movement: once all six stones are down, slide one of your stones to an adjacent empty point.
• The centre point connects to all eight rim points; each rim point connects to its two neighbours and the centre.
• Form a straight line of three to win the round.

Game modes

• Vs computer: three difficulty levels — easy, medium, and hard.
• Hot-seat: pass-and-play with a friend on one screen.
• Online: create an invite code, join one, or quick-match a stranger.

Controls

• Desktop: click an empty point to place a stone; in the movement phase click your stone to select it, then click an adjacent empty point.
• Phone & tablet: tap a point to place, tap your stone to pick it up, then tap where it should slide. Legal destinations glow gold.

Tips & strategy

• Grabbing the centre during placement gives you the most sliding routes later, so fight for it after the opening stone.
• Set up a 'fork' — a stone that could complete two different lines on its next slide — so your opponent cannot block both.

Origins

Terni Lapilli is the Roman ancestor of noughts and crosses — a three-in-a-row game whose grids the Romans scratched into pavements, steps and benches all over their empire. Played with just three pieces a side that could then be slid from point to point, it is one of the oldest line-up games we can still trace today.

About Terni Lapilli

Terni Lapilli is a Roman alignment game, related to nine men's morris, whose scratched boards still survive on ancient pavements. This is an original, free browser build of the public-domain classic — no download or sign-up needed.

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