The object of the game is to make rows of three markers on a line, and to prevent the other player from doing the same. The players take turns putting down one marker at a time, always placing them at the point where the lines cross or connect to each other. This means markers can be placed horizontally, vertically, or even diagonally at one of the board's four corners. Three markers in a straight line make a row, and if they are cleverly arranged, one may form a part of two rows. When all the markers have been placed on the board, the players may begin to move.
Players take turns sliding one marker at a time along the lines, from one point to the next.
The object is still to make rows by sliding the markers to different points on the board, and blocking the other player. Whenever one player makes a new row of three markers, he or she chooses one of the other player's markers, picks it up off the board, and lays it aside. If a player is reduced to only two markers left, he or she may give up the game as lost since three markers are always necessary to complete a row. Nursery Rhymes Colonial children, like children today, also told nursery rhymes. After dipping candles, a colonial woman would hang them from two long horizontal sticks to allow them to harden and cool.