- #Viking board game hnefatafl rules programs for first time software#
- #Viking board game hnefatafl rules programs for first time free#
The line needs to run along the edge of the board, and has to be surrounded by enemy men. A line of warriors can be captured in a shield wall formation. Shield Wall Capture ( Copenhagen Hnefatafl ). If the King's men can form a guard around the King on the edge of the board that has an internal liberty then the defending side gets the win. The King can be captured if surrounded by enemy warriors on an edge square or bounded by two warriors against a corner fortress square.Įdge Fort ( Copenhagen Hnefatafl ).
In all cases the capture has to be made with an enemy move. Brandubh is the only game that uses 'double weak king'. Under 'double weak king' rules the King is weaker still and can be captured custodially between two warriors one step from the throne. Under 'weak king' rules the King can be similarly captured, but if he is two steps or more from the throne square he can be captured with a custodial move. Under 'strong king' rules ( Hnefatafl ) the King can be captured only if he is surrounded on four sides by the warriors, or by three warriors if the throne square bounds the King on the fourth side. Strong King / Weak King / Double Weak King. The warrior remains trapped unless freed by one of his own men. The WTF believes that such a situation will rarely occur and so it doesn't require any extension to the capture rule. Under 'edge win' rules a warrior will not be captured if he is trapped on a corner square by two enemy men. If a man walks into the entrapment there is no capture.Ĭorner Trap. For the capture to happen the trap needs to be closed by an enemy move. However if the throne square is occupied then a King's man cannot be captured against it. A warrior is captured when he is bounded by two enemy men in a straight custodial entrapment, or if bounded by an enemy man against a throne or fortress square. Alternatively, 'corner win' ( Brandubh, Hnefatafl ), the King wins by reaching one of the fortress squares placed in the corners.Ĭustodial Capture. If 'edge win' ( Tablut, Tawlbwrdd ) the King wins if he can reach an edge square. It will be up to defending side to halt any repetition and to find an alternative move.Įdge Win / Corner Win.
If there is a blockade or repetition then the King will never reach safety, so the attacking side have their winning objective. It permits capturing the King, but also permits surrounding the King with a blockade that cannot be broken, or achieving infinite repetition. 'By any means' is the significant phrase.
The attacking side's objective is to prevent the King reaching safety, by any means. Only the King may occupy the throne or fortress squares.
#Viking board game hnefatafl rules programs for first time free#
All pieces move horizontally or vertically any number of free squares. King Edge Capture / Edge Fort / Shield Wallįirst Move. ( Three sets of rules, 'Old', 'Fetlar', 'Copenhagen'. The statistics listed in the table have been taken from the WTF web site. The throne and fortress squares are highlighted wherever they are used. The following table gives the rules for the games of Hnefatafl, Tawlbwrdd, Tablut, Brandubh. Also I prefer to use the word 'Hnefatafl' exclusively to mean 11x11 games that have a 'corner win' objective, and not as a general term for these and similar games. ) Because we can only speculate about the historical origins of these games, with the 7x7 boards from Ireland and Scotland possibly being native, I prefer to avoid calling the games 'Tafl' or 'Viking'.
#Viking board game hnefatafl rules programs for first time software#
If there is any interest, I would be able to make available a game editor for these games that I have adapted from the existing software for Penguin, my game editor for Chess. Hopefully the information here is presented in a format that will avoid any confusion. The games are played by the rules given below. Also some personal opinions and observations of the games.īrandubh, Tablut, Tawlbwrdd and Hnefatafl can be played online on the Gorrion web server. I have given some mention to a few variants that I find particularly interesting. My page doesn't attempt to give an exhaustive description all the variants. The definitive rules together with the history, strategy and discussion on all the games and their variants are given on the World Tafl Federation web site. In all of them the King sits in the centre of the board and has to find refuge ( to a corner or board edge ) without being captured by the enemy warriors. They are basically the same game, share common movement and capture. They are modern reconstructions of a class of games played during Viking times. Here is an introduction to the games of Hnefatafl, Tawlbwrdd, Tablut, Brandubh.
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