Post by Lady Winter Wolf on Jul 28, 2005 4:49:59 GMT -5
Hnefatafl or, also known more simply as Tafl, was a board game played throughout the viking kingdoms of northern Europe prior to the introduction of chess to northern Europe in the middle ages, which, eventually eclipsed the popularity of Hnefatafl.
The board was typically wooden but could also be a stone slate with the lines drawn roughly on with whatever was handy at the time (eg. sharp stone, ember from fire etc.) and the figures were made of antler, amber, bone, glass, clay or stone. The exact rules and format of the game are now lost to history as no complete records of the game have ever been found. However, similar games were played in Wales and by the Saami peoples of northern Scandinavia during a time when records were a little more important and so we now have a fair idea of how to play Hnefatafl.
SET-UP: Hnefatafl simulates a Viking raid. The attackers are situated along the four sides, each side representing a ship. The king and the defenders are located in the middle of the board.
On the set-up diagram (above) attacking warriors are represented by the horizontal striped circles while the defenders are vertically striped. The king (in the middle) is represented by the dotted piece. There are twice as many attackers as defenders.
For our game, the attackers are made of antler disks, the defenders of glass drops, and the king is pewter.
The attackers' goal is to capture the king. The defenders goal is to help the king escape to safety. To win the battle, the attackers must trap the king so he can't move.
This can be done by surrounding the king on all four sides of the center square.
The king can also be trapped on three sides against the center square. Only the king can stay on the center square although another piece can move through it.
The defenders win when the king gets safely to one of the corners (king's squares).
Players play only one piece at a turn.
All pieces move in straight lines, either vertically or horizontally - no diagonal moves permitted. You can move as many squares as you like but can't jump!
Only the king can move onto the king's squares, the center square and the corner squares.
You can eliminate a standing piece by sandwiching it between two opponents. You can also defeat a player piece by sandwiching it between a corner square and the opponent.
For a complete history of Hnefatafl, and its Irish and Saxon counterparts, go to: user.tninet.se/~jgd996c/hnefatafl/hnefatafl.html