Hnefatafl

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History:

Tafl games history

Games from this family were very popular in Scandinavia. It is possible that this game developed from Ludus Latrunculorum, which was adopted by Celts from Romans. Their main invention was to make game uneven, with the fewer number of defenders and outnumbered attackers. This idea is also characteristic for Fox and Geese and thus these games may be related. It's other specific features are for example: the custodial capture and that the board is made of odd number of squares on each side.

Tafl games spread to Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Britain, Wales and even Ukraine mainly because of Viking's forages. Hnefatafl was being supplanted by Chess since XI century. The last notes telling that the game is still used are from year 1587 in Wales and 1723 in Lapland.

Board were usually made of wood. Some of them have holes in the middle of every position. In such boards pieces were pegged, what made the game convenient to play even while traveling. Usually starting positions were somehow marked. Rarely pieces were put on the crossings like in Go.

It was known since 400 year AD. The first archeological excavations of a game called Tafl are from Wimose in Denmark. Found fragment was 18 squares long and one and a half square high.

The game appears many times in literature. It was first mentioned in Voluspa:

'Then in the grass the golden taflor, the far-famed ones, will be found again, which they had owned in older
days.'[1]

You can read about the game in many Sagas, for example in Hervarar Saga where two riddles about Hnefatafl between king Heidrek and the god Oden can be found:

'Who are the maids that fight weaponless around their lord, the brown ever sheltering and the fair ever
attacking him?'
'What is that beast all girdled with iron which kills the flocks? It has eight horns but no head?'[2]

Answer to the first one is pieces in Hnefatafl and to the second one - Hnefi, the king.

There is an interesting fragment in Fridthjof's Saga Ins Fraeki. Fridthjof and Bjorn are playing Hnefatafl when King Helgi's man Hilding comes to ask for Fridhjof's help in the raid of kings. What they say commentating upon the game are in fact answers to Hilding's questions:

'Fridthjof was sitting at Tafl when Hilding came.
He said: "Our kings send word to thee, and they would have thy fighting men for the war against King Hring, who wishes to fall upon their kingdom wrongfully and tyrannously". Fridthjof made no answer, but said to Bjorn, with whom he was playing, "That is a weak point, brother: But thou needest not change it. Rather will I move against the red piece to know if it is protected".
Hilding spoke again: "King Helgi bade me tell thee, Fridthjof, that thou shouldst go on this raid, else thou wilt suffer hardship when they come back". Bjorn said, "Thou hast a choice of two moves, brother: two ways of saving it". Fridthjof said, "First it would be wise to move against this Hnefi and that will be an easy choice".
Hilding received no other answer to his errand. He went back quickly to the kings and told them of Fridthjof. They asked Hilding what sense he made of these words. Hilding said: "When he spoke of the weak point, he meant this raid of your; and when he said he would move with the fair piece, that must refer to your sister Ingebjorg. Therefore look to her well. And when I promised him hardship from you, Bjorn called that a choice, but Fridthjof said that the Hnefi had first to be attacked, and by that he meant King Hring".'[3]

Rules of the game:

• game for 2 persons
• board like the one in the picture with 11*11 positions (or 13*13)
• 24 light pieces for one player, 12+1 dark pieces for the other

like in the picture.

Rules:

Central positions is treated as all the other positions.

Other rules are the same as in Tablut.

Links:

http://www.irt.org/games/js/hnefat/index.htm (playing online)
Try out Hnefatafl! Viewer is both sides at the same time here. Anybody with you? If yes, you can try! Or else if you like beeing two persons :-)

http://www.gamecabinet.com/history/Hnef.html
'Hnefatafl The Viking Game' - article written by Sire Bohémond de Nicée.
You can find out something about strategy as well as about how it appeared in Scandinavian literature and it's connections with other old games here.

http://www.ele.kth.se/FMI/staff/hnefatafl.html
Hnefatafl - the strategic board game of the Vikings. An overview of rules and variations of the game by Sten Helmfrid.
For detailed information about the fascinating puzzle of Scandinavian board game and how it was beeing solved as well as description of rules see here.

http://www.realtime.com/~gunnora/games.htm
King's Table: Game of the Noble Scandinavians by Viking Answer Lady, Christie Ward.
If you want to see great pictures and read the description of the rules and history of Viking's games go here!

Other Comments:

Citations:

1. 1. citation after "Hnefatafl The Viking Game", Sire Bohémond de Nicée, http://www.gamecabinet.com/history/Hnef.html from Lee Hollander,
2. 2. citation after Hnefatafl - the strategic board game of the Vikings. An overview of rules and variations of the game by Sten Helmfrid
3. 3. citation after 'Hnefatafl The Viking Game', Sire Bohémond de Nicée, http://www.gamecabinet.com/history/Hnef.html from Margaret