The Maldivian game of mills, played with cowrie shells and red beads.
Known across the world as Nine Men's Morris — in the Maldives it is called Thinhama.
Two players. Nine pieces each. Twenty-four points on a board of three squares. Form a line of three — a mill — and remove an opponent's piece. Outlast them to win.
A game as old as strategy itself ތިންހަމަ
Thinhama is the Maldivian form of Nine Men's Morris — one of the oldest and most travelled board games in the world. In the islands, the classic carved lines were played with whatever lay at hand: red beads for one player, cowrie shells for the other.
Form mills
Line up three of your pieces on a row of the board and you form a mill — immediately remove any one of your opponent's pieces.
Cowrie vs beads
The Maldives was once famous across the Indian Ocean for its cowrie shells. On a Thinhama board they face off against red beads.
Played everywhere
Carved into stone, drawn in sand, scratched into wood — Thinhama has been a quiet companion of Maldivian life for generations.
Start playing
The full game runs right in your browser — no downloads, no sign-ups. Play against the computer or pass-and-play with a friend.
Play online
Challenge the built-in computer on three difficulty levels, or take turns with a friend on the same screen.
Open the game →The rules
Placing, moving, mills, captures and flying — every rule explained step by step with diagrams.
Read the rules →Heritage
From the cowrie-money trade to the mill games of Europe and Egypt — the long journey of Thinhama.
Discover the heritage →