Hnefatafl

Sympkyn of the Moor

Number of players: 2
Type of game: Board
Period: 4th – 12th centuries

History

Hnefatafl is a member of the Tafl games family and is played on an 11×11 board. The attacker has 24 pieces and the defender has 12 plus their king.

Objective

The dark pieces (attackers) lay siege, their goal, is to capture the king. The light pieces (defenders) must break the siege and get their king to safety.

Rules

Set up for Hnefatafl

  1. Two players, the king’s side vs the attackers. There are twice as many attackers as defenders.
  2. The attackers’ side moves first, and the players then take turns.
  3. All pieces move any number of vacant squares along a row or a column, like a rook in chess.
  4. All pieces except the king are captured if sandwiched between two enemy pieces, or between an enemy piece and a restricted square. The two enemy pieces should be on the square above and below or on the squares left and right of the attacked piece, i.e. not diagonally.
    A piece is only captured if the trap is closed by the aggressor’s move, it is therefore permitted to move in between two enemy pieces. The king may take part in captures.
  5. Restricted squares may only be occupied by the king. The central restricted square is called the throne. It is allowed for the king to re-enter the throne, and all pieces may pass through the throne when it is empty.
    Restricted squares are hostile, which means they can replace one of the two pieces taking part in a capture. The throne is always hostile to the attackers, but only hostile to the defenders when it is empty.
    The four corner squares are also restricted and hostile, just like the throne.
    The board edge is NOT hostile.
  6. If the king reaches any corner square, the king has escaped and his side wins
  7. The attackers win if they can capture the king.
    The king is captured when the attackers surround him on all four cardinal points, except when he is next to the throne.
    If on a square next to the throne, the attackers must occupy the three remaining squares around him.
    The king cannot be captured on the board edge UNLESS he is the only white piece remaining on the board and is completely surrounded by black (i.e. rule 9).
  8. If the attackers surround the king and ALL remaining defenders, then they win, as they have prevented the king from escaping.
  9. If a player cannot move, he loses the game.
  10. If it is not possible to end the game, fx. because both sides have too few pieces left or because of repetitions, it is a draw.