Mū tōrere is a two-player board game played mainly by Māori people from New Zealand's North Island. Each player has four counters. The game has a simple premise but expert players are able to see up to 40 moves ahead. Like many other Māori board games, it is played on a papa tākoro (game board) and is tightly interwoven with stories and histories.
The Ngāti Hauā chief Wiremu Tamihana Te Waharoa reputedly offered a game to Governor George Grey with the whole country going to the winner, but Grey declined, possibly because Māori players of mū tōrere had been known to win large sums from pākehā visitors to New Zealand who were new to the game.
Mū Tōrere
Mū tōrere is a two-player board game played mainly by Māori people from New Zealand's North Island. Each player has four counters. The game has a simple premise but expert players are able to see up to 40 moves ahead. Like many other Māori board games, it is played on a papa tākoro (game board) and is tightly interwoven with stories and histories.
The Ngāti Hauā chief Wiremu Tamihana Te Waharoa reputedly offered a game to Governor George Grey with the whole country going to the winner, but Grey declined, possibly because Māori players of mū tōrere had been known to win large sums from pākehā visitors to New Zealand who were new to the game.