Play the Viking board game Hnefatafl online | Viking Chess | Tablut | Nefatavl

Play Hnefatafl Online. The Viking board game.
National Tournaments started July 1st 2020.
See the tournament page.
Play tafl against humans.
Тавлеи против людей.
Rasmus Holbroe vikings
Artist: Copyright © Rasmus Holbroe (Jan. 2016).

Tafl against the computer.
January 26th 2020 at 19:30 in Bulgarian National Television channel 2: Hnefatafl International Master Lucho Panchev ("OdinHimself"), Bulgaria, tells about Hnefatafl:
Watch the programme here!
Coming tournaments:
Tyr-2 15x15, test starting July 7th 2020.
"Tyr 15x15" is already tested and was found balanced. In Tyr-2 the king can jump over pieces like the commanders can.
Go to the Play Tafl Against Humans page to join; the invitation is open for 7 days.
Small forum.
Code of Conduct. You should not post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful or threatening material. Doing so may lead to you being immediately banned for a period of time.

  07-07/15:29 Hagbard:  Note about the World Tourn.:
http://aagenielsen.dk/hnefataflforum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&p=1457#p1457

  07-06/20:48 Hagbard:  Lead in Garthariki: L716 3 pt.

  07-05/09:07 Steiger:  Ok, thank you!

  07-05/08:00 Hagbard:  Yes it is. The program does not discover the Fetlar draw fort and does not end the game with a draw automatically. So the two players both of them have to click on the "Offer Draw" button, which will end the game with a draw.

  07-05/07:52 Steiger:  Is Copenhagen exit fort a draw fort for Fetlar?

  07-04/15:04 Hagbard:  The Irish Brandubh 2 tournament finished with #1 Auskor, #2 Xerxes, #3 L716 and Unhandyandy

  07-04/08:39 OdinHimself:  @Hagbard: Splendid!

  07-03/21:26 Hagbard:  New in gallery: Midsummer Eve in Land of Legends, Denmark.

  07-03/05:10 Jrton80:  @casshern - ah, come on, you are going to beat my ass again? So sad :)

  07-02/14:41 Hagbard:  Lead in North America: Cacreal 3 pt.

  07-01/07:56 Hagbard:  Nationals first finished game: Cacreal / Holidayinnes

  07-01/07:48 Hagbard:  ok

  06-30/23:52 casshern:  @Hagbard: No umpire yet. Would you mind? Hopefully, all tournaments will run smoothly, without need for an umpire.

  06-30/21:49 Hagbard:  May Odin give you knowledge on your path.

Nationals first move: Jrton80

  06-30/19:55 Hagbard:  Does the Masters group have an umpire?

  06-30/15:46 Hagbard:  @Brench: You wanna join the North American? You're in

  06-30/15:20 Brench:  Tournament?  I just missed registration didn’t I?

  06-30/11:51 Steiger:  @OdinHimself, but whole album remind me Isengard recorded by drunken in hell Fenriz!))) https://gnolder.bandcamp.com/track/de-fyra-ren

  06-30/08:12 Haio:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-30/08:12 Haio:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-29/20:59 Hagbard:  Deadline tomorrow 12 o'clock.

  06-29/20:21 Hagbard:  Since some players are now in two tournaments and could have a hard time, then perhaps just as well use the Russian timing for all? :
1 day per move. Time buffer 10 days. Long game threshold 20 days.

  06-29/20:08 Hagbard:  @Adam: ok

  06-29/20:05 Adam:  @Hagbard: I have joined the national tournaments and I believe that as a resident of Norway I qualify for the Norden Tablut 9x9? I would also like to join the Copenhagen Masters Tournament for some much needed axe sharpening!

  06-29/19:57 Adam:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-29/13:43 Bogd Khan:  Thank you, Mario! I'll be happy to join you

  06-29/10:26 Hagbard:  "Masters Tournament" with casshern, sqAree, OdinHimself and Bogd Khan?

  06-28/23:30 casshern:  @Bogd Khan: Will you join Odinhimself, sqAree, and myself in the Masters Tournament?

  06-28/19:37 Steiger:  @OdinHimself, nice tune. Something remind, not sure.

  06-28/17:56 OdinHimself:  For Steiger: https://gnolder.bandcamp.com/track/ntra-sm-lands-stenar
Sounds familiar? :)

  06-27/23:24 Hagbard:  thebiggerfoot is the same as L3monMan, right?

  06-27/19:06 Hagbard:  Some of the missing names for the nat. tournaments:
OdinHimself, cdafo, Archibald K., p59xy, unhandyandy, Brench, Iarann, jules, AreVidar, Mark-Sam, Fraech, Rossomaha, themightyglider and kAAgEE

  06-27/17:53 Bogd Khan:  I do prefer Copenhagen but it doesn't matter to me :)

  06-27/12:13 Hagbard:  3 days left for registering for the national tournaments!! Deadline June 30th, 12 o'clock Danish time.

  06-27/08:30 MasterLuke:  I prefer Tablut, but I don't mind playing Copenhagen either :)

  06-27/08:00 Hagbard:  @"Rest-World": As for variant, Bogd Khan appears to much prefer Copenhagen? Sergej appears to much prefer Tablut? And Masterluke appears to play both variants?

  06-26/12:06 Hagbard:  Sergej, what would be your preferred variant?

  06-25/22:08 garun19:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-25/22:07 garun19:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-25/18:58 TimeyWimey:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-25/10:37 Hagbard:  @casshern: Splendid idea! I've put a comment in the large forum:
http://aagenielsen.dk/hnefataflforum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&p=1453#p1453

  06-25/08:44 OdinHimself:  @casshern: Long gone are the days when I could resist you. :) Nevertheless I'll be honored if we cross swords one last time.

  06-25/08:16 casshern:  So I guess that means the Masters tournament is on? Honestly, I would have been happy if it were just me and Odinhimself. But, you my friend are second to none! It would be my pleasure to once again face off against you.

  06-25/08:11 casshern:  Lol, I mean, what do we do here: PLAY! 🤣

  06-25/05:41 sqaree:  I meant to say it's okay for me, not play for me. xD

  06-25/05:41 sqAree:  Hey casshern, we don't have an umpire yet, so I guess we gladly accept your offer! Thank you!
Also I would probably join your Masters Tournament if it happens, it's play for me to have a few simultaneous games.

  06-25/02:05 casshern:  @Hagbard: I have withdrawn myself from the North American tournament. However, I have an idea for another tournament. Can we have a “Masters Tournament”, to start at the same time as the Nationals? I propose any player that either has a rating of 1600+ or has made it to any final of the WTC since 2014, which I believe is the first year that there were 2 stages/rounds. Rules would be Copenhagen. Same timing as Gàrðaríki group. Can you create a tab for “Masters Tournament” or players can register for National tournament and indicate here if there would like to join the Masters.

Players like Sqaree, Stieger, Animals, etc, who would qualify for the Masters tournament, are invited, of course, if they are willing to play in two tournaments simultaneously. 

Adam, Odinhimself, and Bogd Khan are also invited of course!!! I very much enjoy playing with these fine gentlemen. And I think this would be a fine opportunity for Adam to get some extra practice before this big match!

One last thing, does Germany have an umpire? If not, I wouldn’t mind being the umpire for their tournament.

  06-25/01:41 casshern:  Deregisters from the National Tournament 2020.

  06-24/23:02 Hagbard:  The Historical Hnefatafl 13x13 tournament finished with #1 Ded fomich, #2 L716, #3 Cacreal

  06-24/16:46 Steiger:  Thanks, @Adam! I'll think about it.

  06-24/16:12 Bogd Khan:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-24/12:43 Hagbard:  It's a must see. Yesterday Midsummer Eve we were in the area for the bonfires, fantastic atmosphere. We bought annual passes because of this. The original hall also looked brand new 1300 years ago... It's all solid oak, very heavy, and people are allowed to touch it all (the helmet and the sword perhaps only with a guide), so in years it will have the used look.

  06-24/12:28 Masterluke:  That's okay with me, I prefer Tablut... By the way, I just saw the video (the link you posted) about the hall. I don't understand Danish, but I must say it's quite an impressive effort! If I ever come nearby, I'll surely visit it... With the modern machinery, it looks a bit too 'straight', too 'clean'... In viking times, the building would look much rougher. But now I'm hairsplitting, really... It's a fantastic building...

  06-24/11:02 Hagbard:  Germany chose Copenhagen. If "Rest-World" were to be Sergej and yourself, the choice would probably be Tablut.

  06-24/10:59 Masterluke:  The distance is of little importance, since it's played online, right? I just wondered which game I'll play. On the tournament page, I see both Copenhagen-rules and Tablut-rules, depending of the groups...

  06-24/10:54 Hagbard:  There could be a natural group Benelux & France? I take it that Belgium is too distant from Germany? Or else there's anyway the Rest-World with all players not in a group.

  06-24/10:41 Masterluke:  I just registered for the tournament. Being Belgian, in what section will I play, against who and which rules? I really jumped into the deep here :)

  06-24/10:39 Masterluke:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-24/10:38 Hagbard:  https://www.tv2lorry.dk/sondagsmagasinet/vikingekongernes-hal

  06-24/09:48 Adam:  Hail makers of tafl boards! I have been invited to play Copenhagen Hnefatafl in a display game against a high ranking Norwegian chess player September 27th. Gulp. The location is a viking museum in Vestfold, Norway. They have a great shop and are keen to sell different Hnefatafl sets at the event and beyond. So if you have a Hnefatafl set product, from the individually hand crafted to the modern mass produced, let me know and I’ll put you in touch with the event organiser. mail me on: bartley.adam@gmail.com And good luck to all in the Nationals!

  06-24/09:14 Hagbard:  New in the Nat.tourn. page: photos of the Norden prize.
Also photo of the Garthariki prize.

  06-24/08:03 Hagbard:  The Tyr-2 13x13 tournament finished with #1 Ded fomich and L716, #3 Cacreal and Jrton80

  06-23/21:39 mihkkal:  There will be an award to the winner of the Norden Tablut tournament: A game set for Tablut, and some other games traditionally played by the Sámi, such as Dablo and Sáhkku. Board and pieces designed by me, Ingemund Skålnes, and Astri Mari Nyborg. Box designed and set made (laser cut wood and 3D print) by Petter Pegge Ericsson.

  06-21/22:40 Ded Fomich:  Сергей is probably going to be a national master as the only participant of the Moldavian tournament.

  06-21/11:46 Haio:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-21/09:35 Hagbard:  The Berserk move 35 is not legal, the commander must not do the last jump without capturing. There is a bug in the Berserk move programming, it's hard to find and fix.

  06-20/22:12 L716:  BTW, about a doubt. In my Tyr-2 13x13 game as a black against Cacreal at the move 35 I've played this with: j10-h10-g10.h10-h11-g11.h11-j11
Berserk sequence ends with a commander just jumping over a piece without capturing anything. Is this a correct move?

  06-20/10:01 Hagbard:  @Jrton80: In the World tourn. with up to 400 games, there is often one or two games where suddenly doubt occur.

  06-20/08:06 Jrton80:  Of course, then I see "здесь завтра точно будет братство, но теперь война" And I say, no, you miss the point, it is War all the time, it is all about who has the biggest prick until the Age of reason, and then it was still the same. And still is until true reason is the basis of the current civilization

  06-20/06:35 Jrton80:  (Yeah, yeah, I know, don't drink and type)

  06-20/06:33 Jrton80:  ya know, casshern, while I hate the guy for never have beaten him, I would never worry about him being umpire for a game he was playing, then again, I am not sure the need for an umpire, @hagbard, tell me, do people whine about losing so badly that an umpire is needed? I am confused about that

  06-19/21:01 sqAree:  I have no idea who'd want to volunteer to be our umpire.. ^^
But yes, we definitely want Copenhagen rules!

  06-19/18:29 OdinHimself:  @ Ded Fomich: Always! Semper fidelis!

  06-19/17:26 Ded Fomich:  @OdinHimself Thank you, I knew we could rely on you! Skál!

  06-19/17:16 Steiger:  I vote for OdinHimself to be ours umpire!

  06-19/14:50 Hagbard:  The posts are quite entertaining though...

  06-19/14:25 L716:  @Hagbard: could you delete this topic, please? http://aagenielsen.dk/hnefataflforum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=124
We don't need it amymore, since OdinHimself agreed to be an umpire of Garðaríki

  06-19/13:15 Hagbard:  Sergej, please give a word about, which tournament group you would want to join

  06-19/11:30 Hagbard:  @Germany: - and I take it that you prefer the Copenhagen variant? The registered players used this one more often.

  06-19/11:20 Hagbard:  Yes please

  06-19/11:10 sqAree:  No we don't, should we take care of finding one by ourselves? :D

  06-19/06:28 OdinHimself:  @Ded Fomich: I'll be honoured. My steel is yours, my Gàrðaríki friends!

  06-19/00:41 Hagbard:  @Germany: Do you have an umpire?

  06-18/23:10 mihkkal:  Approves of @Casshern as umpire for @Norden

  06-18/22:22 Ded Fomich:  @Casshern Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. 
@Gàrðaríki The situation around our tournament reminds me the situation in the ninth century, so I suggest not reinventing the wheel and follow the precepts of our ancient ancestors. I mean that it’s time for summoning of the Varangians. We need a mighty Varangian chieftain to put things right. The best candidate in our situation I see is our brother-in-arms OdinHimself if he and all of us agree. I don’t think that someone of us will be opposed to this decision.
@OdinHimself My friend, give us a favour and be the umpire of the Gàrðaríki tournament, do an honour to us!

  06-18/21:17 Ded Fomich:  @Hagbard Nice, thank you!

  06-18/20:54 Hagbard:  That would be for Garthariki:
1 day per move. Time buffer 10 days. Long game threshold 20 days.

  06-18/20:53 Hagbard:  Thank you, Casshern! And I'll be glad to umpire the North American tournament, if the players agree.
@Norden: Is it ok that Casshern umpire the Nordic tournament?

  06-18/19:51 Steiger:  @MasterLuke, thank you!

  06-18/19:50 Steiger:  Increase the time buffer to ten days - that would be great.

  06-18/19:23 casshern:  @Hagbard: I can umpire Norden Tournament. And may I suggest you as umpire of North American Tournament? As Ded Fomich mentioned, like it is done in the WTC, an umpire should not see over his own games. So, might it be more prudent to find an umpire(s) who is not participating in the tournament he/she is playing in?

  06-18/18:49 Hagbard:  Default timing:
1 day per move. Time buffer 6 days. Long game threshold 12 days.

  06-18/18:44 OdinHimself:  @Hagbard: Which ones?

  06-18/08:40 Hagbard:  King's site, the Odin figure was found at the original hall:
https://sn.dk/modules/xphoto/cache/60/631660_605_0_0_0_0_0_2.jpg
Several locality names nearby derive from the word Odin up to this day.

  06-18/06:07 OdinHimself:  @Hagbard: I see you've discovered my house. Skål! 😃

  06-17/19:19 Hagbard:  https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2020-06-17-danmarks-stoerste-vikingehal-genopfoert-kom-med-ind-bag-vaeggene

  06-17/17:40 Hagbard:  @Garthariki: Have you decided about the time buffer?

  06-17/17:01 MasterLuke:  ... and how NICE they are!! Especially the one with the Lewis Chess Warders and King,... But I like them all. :)

  06-17/13:16 Hagbard:  New in gallery: Steiger sent photos of new tafl boards.

  06-17/10:05 Hagbard:  @Ded Fomich: Message size increased. It's possible, however, that the increase won't work because of other technical limits not set by me.

  06-17/09:57 Steiger:  "здесь завтра точно будет братство, но теперь война" (с)

  06-17/07:54 L716:  And it's looks like it's time to vote: http://aagenielsen.dk/hnefataflforum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=124

  06-17/07:54 L716:  I propose Hnefihunter’s candidacy for an umpire during the Gàrðaríki national tournament.

  06-17/05:45 Steiger:  I propose L716’s candidacy for an umpire during the Gàrðaríki national tournament.

  06-16/23:48 ChaolAibhne:  @Hagbard. OK, thanks.

  06-16/23:09 Ded Fomich:  @Hagbard Could you please increase the message size here while using Cyrillic alphabet?

  06-16/23:05 Ded Fomich:  ...не будет, сиди себе да плюй в потолок. Кстати, теоретически двое судей должно быть, один судит все игры, кроме своих собственных, а второй — игры первого, если такая надобность возникает. Тут такое уже практиковалось в  мировых чемпионатах, если я правильно помню.

  06-16/23:04 Ded Fomich:  @Steiger Упёрся рогом, да? Ещё титулы да рейтинги мне вменяешь, жулик! Как будто не знаешь, какой из меня спортсмен, а также на чём и с каким крутящим моментом я те регалии вертел. Помыслил же я таковым образом: инициатива должна быть наказуема, кто приз предложил, тому и судить. Дело-то плёвое — правила исторические, многократно обкатанные, ничьих н


  06-16/21:15 Hagbard:  @ChaolAibhne: That would be difficult to implement.

  06-16/21:01 Steiger:  @L716, что голову морочить - кто тут у нас самый титулованый и высокорейтинговый? И вообще, с  меня приз, так что гуляйте - сами разбирайтесь кто судьёй будет, я пас и точка!

  06-16/20:51 Hagbard:  I suggest Casshern as umpire of the Norden tournament, if he can be persuaded.

  06-16/19:59 Hagbard:  The national tournaments are rather independent. Steve Lonsdale is fx. instigator for the UK tourn.
Each tourn. will probably have its own umpire, and each tourn. can have its own variant. If a group thinks that it takes two umpires then that's it.
It is technically possible to have its own timing also, fx. a different time buffer value for the Garthariki.

  06-16/19:52 L716:  @Steiger: "Из двух зол выбирай оба" :D. Или, как вариант, я могу предложить Hnefihunter'a, который скорее всего тоже найдёт причину отказаться. А потом мы все пойдём голосовать на форум чтоб сделать кого-нибудь судьёй насильно.

  06-16/19:47 Steiger:  @L716, а не слишком ли много командиров на одно лицо?)

  06-16/18:26 L716:  @Hagbard: Сan we have two umpires? :D Because it looks like they both have time issues. So, two is better than one.

  06-16/18:07 Steiger:  I propose Ded Fomich’s candidacy for an umpire during the Gàrðaríki national tournament.

  06-16/18:06 Steiger:  @Ded Fomich, ну спасибо, дружище! Я, значицо, молчу - в судьи тебя не предлагаю (хотя ты самый подходящий вариант ;-)), а ты так, да?! Ладно, ладно...

  06-16/03:06 holidayinnes:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-15/21:57 Ded Fomich:  I propose Steiger’s candidacy for an umpire during the Gàrðaríki national tournament. I also propose to increase the time buffer to ten days. Steiger had problems with timeouts during the last championship and I’m going to visit a small village in the middle of nowhere exactly at the beggining of July and I shall for sure have problems with Internet connection. Actually I’m not sure if I have any connection there.

  06-15/10:22 Hagbard:  Who are the umpires of the UK, USA, Garthariki, Norden and Germany tournaments?

  06-15/09:39 thebigfoot:  Deregisters from the National Tournament 2020.

  06-14/20:06 ChaolAibhne:  @Hagbard: Yes, the page with the list of my games usefully shows the time remaining for each game. I was thinking of an email alert for when someone isn't currently visiting the website.

  06-14/14:46 Haio:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-14/14:26 Hagbard:  The full scale reconstruction of the Viking King Hall in Lejre, Denmark, will be inaugurated at June 17th (postponed because of corona), all live-streamed to the world from 14:15

https://sagnlandet.dk/danmarks-stoerste-vikingehal/

The hall will be opened by the Danish Queen. The original hall was no doubt built by her ancestor in a straight line of kings and a couple of queens.

  06-14/10:12 Bogd Khan:  Deregisters from the National Tournament 2020.

  06-14/08:29 Steiger:  @mrwalrus, его можно понять.

  06-14/07:08 mrwalrus:  он плачет, потому что он слишком медленный

  06-14/06:49 Steiger:  @Mrwalrus, что начинается?

  06-14/05:36 Hagbard:  In the "My current games" page is an Enter button at the bottom, "Show my games and time buffers". This function is useful for keeping track of time buffers.

  06-14/05:28 Hagbard:  @thebigfoot: Open invitations for the same variant are limited to 4 shown.

  06-14/05:26 Hagbard:  Made group North America.

  06-14/00:31 Mrwalrus:  Начинается

  06-14/00:15 ChaolAibhne:  @Hagbard. With so many players taking part in tournament 168, I've struggled at times to keep on top of all my games, and have just there inadvertently let my game as black against Jrton80 time out. Could I request a feature whereby a notification would be sent out when a player is getting close to timing out, say 3 hours. Thanks.

  06-13/22:27 thebigfoot:  @hagbard Is there a limit for how many games you can invite to?

  06-13/22:26 thebigfoot:  @Hagbard I agree with casshern, I was thinking if the tournament could be North America, as to include Canadian players.

  06-13/22:00 casshern:  @Hagbard: Copenhagen is the variant that was introduced to me here in the US. I can safely say it is our preferred variant. Also, might I suggest allowing Canadian players to join our tournament as well, if they don’t have enough players of their own. It makes sense to me, since most of our major sports leagues have teams in the US and Canada.

  06-13/16:34 L716:  @Hagbard: It can be discussed, if Сергей will show he can speak :D Till this moment it was not the case - none of us was able to make a contact.

  06-13/14:12 Hagbard:  Suggestion: looking at the Rest-World at this moment, the Copenhagen seems to be the favourite variant

  06-13/14:11 EilidhAnIorua:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-13/14:01 Hagbard:  Suggestion: looking at the USA players, the Copenhagen seems to generally be the favourite variant. As also Thebigfoot asked for.

  06-13/13:40 Hagbard:  Suggestion: Sergej, Moldova, never played any other variant than Tablut. In case the Rest-World comes to play the Copenhagen, would it then be an idea that Sergej instead joined the Garthariki?

  06-13/07:13 mihkkal:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-13/00:09 thebigfoot:  Seems new players cannot make an account on playtaflonline

  06-12/18:05 jrton80:  @Hagbard, I should have been asleep then, it didn't make sense to be until later.

  06-12/13:56 Hagbard:  Play Tafl Online is running again!
http://beta.playtaflonline.com/

  06-12/12:55 Hagbard:  New in tourn. page: Steiger offered a prize for the winner of the Garthariki tournament!

  06-12/08:40 Hagbard:  No black resigned (L3monman)

  06-12/06:08 Jrton80:  @Hagbard, somehow my game with L3monman shows me as resigning which I did not do.

  06-11/13:55 Hagbard:  The Tyr 15x15 tournament finished with #1 L716, #2 Ded fomich, Jrton80 and Masterluke

  06-11/05:40 Thebigfoot:  Does anyone else get challenged by new accounts but then they never respond?

  06-10/23:26 mihkkal:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020

  06-10/15:57 mihkkal:  @Hagbard: Yes, a Norden tournament would be awesome.

  06-10/08:13 thebigfoot:  I think the domain expired

  06-10/00:27 Hagbard:  But until some days ago the beta.playtaflonline.com worked for most functions

  06-09/23:09 thebigfoot:  @hagbard It seems the sight has been down for quite some time now.

  06-09/20:30 sqAree:  There are only two active players in Germany it seems.

  06-09/17:32 Hagbard:  "playtaflonline.com has expired" one gets when calling the site. What happened?

  06-09/14:36 Hagbard:  Some countries with many players:
Canada 10, Nordic countries 10, France 6, Germany 5.

  06-09/13:26 Hagbard:  Suggestion for timing of Nat. Tourns:
1 day per move. Time buffer 6 days. Long game threshold 12 days.

  06-09/13:16 Hagbard:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-09/13:04 Hagbard:  That would be "Norden" ("Nordic countries").

  06-09/13:00 Hagbard:  @mihkkal: I would join that! That would be Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland?

  06-09/12:46 mihkkal:  A North Europe Tournament in Saami Tablut would be interesting...

  06-08/18:36 Steiger:  @Hnefihunter, давай, Лёха, дерзай!

  06-08/17:33 Steiger:  @Ded Fomich, вас понял! На днях опубликуем фоточку приза.

  06-08/12:00 Ded Fomich:  @Steiger Раскудрявый клён зелёный, лист резной =). Саня, не вижу ни малейшего повода для сравнения, целиком и полностью ручная работа в моих глазах всегда поборет высокотехнологичные методы изготовления.

  06-08/10:30 Hnefihunter:  Раз уж тут такие именитые меценаты, то мне обязательно нужно привести себя в форму))

  06-08/01:34 Steiger:  @Ded Fomich, Голова, тебе какой таблут больше нравится: мой крайний кленовый или Димона на кожаном поле с бронзовым королём? ;-)

  06-08/01:31 Steiger:  Значится, повыпендриваемся. Утрём нос капиталистам!)

  06-07/21:36 L716:  Ну, ничто же не помешает им самим для себя тоже что-то выделить. Самоорганизация-с

  06-07/21:29 thebigfoot:  I wouldn't mind the USA national tournament being Copenhagen

  06-07/19:57 Steiger:  Интересно, не почувствуют ли себя обделёнными участники других национальных турниров, если я для нашего, Гардарического, призовой таблутик выделю?)

  06-07/18:53 Hagbard:  - perhaps we should have a Commonwealth tournament... ;)

  06-07/18:23 Steiger:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  06-07/18:23 Steiger:  Garðaríki, sounds great. I'm in!

  06-07/17:59 Ded Fomich:  * not mind

  06-07/17:41 Ded Fomich:  My approach is quite simple. The Slavs, who live in the territory of modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, are essentially one nation, we used to live in one State ☭ not so long ago. We are still closely tied by language, culture and mentality, we have a great amount of family ties — a huge number of Russians have relatives in Ukraine and Belarus, I am not an exception. The connection of reasonable people in our countries is even probably deeper in the current political situation. I grew up side by side with my friends and relatives and spent a lot of time there, so I don’t care about bureaucratic tantrums, oligarchic scrum and political propaganda, I can’t be forced to break this connection for these reasons. I shall therefore absolutely don’t mind if the Garðaríki tournament is won by an Ukrainian or by a Belarusian.

  06-07/14:33 Hagbard:  ok

  06-07/14:28 L716:  Currently Rossomaha (Ukraine) and Steiger (Ukraine/DPR) are active, and unfortunately I haven't seen Oddur (Ukreine too) for quite a while. I will write them and ask if they want to join.

  06-07/14:16 Hagbard:  It's also up to you players from Russia & Belarus & Ukraine then. If everybody agree, it could be = Garthariki. I guess the only player in question is Steiger?

  06-07/14:06 L716:  Poles and Romanians are not Eastern Slavs. Poles are Western Slavs and Romanians are not even Slavs (even though you could say they are binded to Slavs in a lot of ways), so they are not the topic of the discussion. 
What I'm proposing is uniting in one tournament only Eastern Slavs i.e. only players from nations originated from early medieval Rus' principalities under the rule of Rurik's dynasty. Those are: Russia, Belarus and Ukraine (and currently there are also two partially recognized republics DPR and LPR).
Even though the relationships between countries could be complicated, Rus' principalities (aka Garðaríki) is the key and starting point of those nations identity. I don't think someone would be against, let's say, an Ukrainian citizen taking high place in predominantly Russian tournament, since we has so much common culture and history (which is not only medieval Rurikid dynasty, but all the way up to the end of the XX century). In many cases Eastern Slavs are even closer to each other than Scandinavians. 
So the question really is: do you want to stick to the current country divisions in order to make tournaments more "official" or there is a place for supranational associations.

  06-07/12:58 Hagbard:  My thought is that "5" is not a completely strict limit. Russia is an important hnefatafl area, and I'd say the Russia tournament runs anyway.
As for larger areas, I could imagine a "Scandinavian National Master", though we'll never gather 5 players in Scandinavia for it.
As for the Garthariki, a pure Russia National Master makes good sense, while it would not seem as fair that a Polish or Romanian player ended up being a Russia Master -

  06-07/12:18 L716:  @Hagbard: I'm afraid we (Russian Tournament) might not have enough players - one of the five players is a new one, who doesn't seem to be active currently. I'm not sure if this person will show up at the time.
Do you want these tournaments to be exactly national tournaments or it's possible to create supranational Garðaríki, if, let's say, one or two active players from other eastern-slavic countries would want to join?

  06-07/11:01 Hagbard:  About the National Tournaments, to begin July 1st.
Only three weeks to tournament start.
I'd like to share a thought about number of participants.
The UK tournament has 3 registerings now, and since the British took the initiative, the UK tournament will run in any case, I presume.
For the rest of us, however, I'd suggest that it would take a handfull of players i.e. 5, to make a tournament. This have already USA and Russia.
Left are at the moment 5 players. I'd suggest that rest of the players have their own tournament to find the winner of "Rest-World" (inspired from "Rest-Jugoslavia").
As of now it seems that the variants would be:
UK: Copenhagen 11x11.
USA: ?
Russia: Historical Hnefatafl 9x9 (Saami Tablut)
Rest-World: ?

  06-07/10:34 Hagbard:  @aticus: Please repost rest of your message, it's very interesting. Unfortunately the end of the message was lost in the length limit.

  06-07/09:37 aticus:  In online chess, cheating is a huge issue. Pro players cheat for cash prizes and such! Anyway, there's two types of online cheating, using engines, and something called sandbagging. Using an engine means you copy the moves of your game to an A.I. or some kind of computer that then plays a move stronger than humans would see, therefore creating an unfair game. That one isn't that relative in this case, so there's not much cause for concern (unless someone created a tafl A.I. and wont share with the public.) 
So, that leaves us with sandbagging. Sandbagging can be summarized as someone pretending to be a different rating than they actually are. For example, if we had tournaments that only allowed under 1600 players to play, a stronger player could lower their rating by losing games on purpose, then join the tournament and win. Or, someone strong could pretend to be lower rated player to severely lower someone else's rating. Another form of sandbagging is creating duplicate accounts and playing against yourself or a friend and losing on purpose to artificially increase rating. I think that is a threat to this sight and probably has already happened. 
Now, some possible solutions: I think that before people join the sight and make an account, display a terms and agreement page, stating that if the player is caught cheating, then that account will be banned. But what if they make a new account? Unfortunately, there is no real way to stop that unless there is some kind of IP tracker where the IP address is recorded and any new accounts coming from that address are automatically deleted. That is something i have to conduct more research on. Now the actual detection of cheating: there is a "current board positions" button on this sight which allows you to see current games between players. If it looks like a new account or player has joined and is only playing against one account, that is suspicious and should be investigated further. If someone wi

  06-06/08:45 Hagbard:  Yes thank you, I'd like to hear the ideas. The internet is a milieu with properties and problems of its own.

  06-06/08:25 Aticus:  I will check for some links, I don’t think cheating is such a big problem with tafl because there is no A.I that is that strong. However, there could be a way to stop people from making duplicate accounts and playing against themselves. I have some ideas if you’re interested.

  06-06/08:08 Hagbard:  Do you have names of methods for this and links to read more about it, please?

  06-06/03:03 aticus:  Does this sight have anti cheating software installed?

  06-03/15:53 OdinHimself:  It's great! So many tafl addicts have put a piece of their hearts in this drawings. It couldn't be more captivating.

  06-03/13:42 Hagbard:  Overview of art here:
http://aagenielsen.dk/siteart.php

  05-31/20:43 Waegn:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-31/10:10 MasterLuke:  @Ded Fomich and @Hagbard:A pity it can't be programmed, for it would add a little extra drama to the game... If my game Tyr in real live will be realised, the rule will certainly apply:)

  05-30/20:23 Ded Fomich:  Yes, I know, I counted on that rule when I was doing my maneuvers. That’s all right, let the game be finished a bit later. It’s strange that I could even remember this rule. I always forget additional rules, especially about berserk moves.

  05-30/17:25 Hagbard:  With the rule you already won very elegantly.

  05-30/12:52 Ded Fomich:  Okay, I'll just keep playing without that rule.

  05-29/22:32 Hagbard:  It would be important for the Ded fomich / Cacreal game, I can see that

  05-29/22:29 Hagbard:  Not programmed. If you agree about it, the piece can be removed manually

  05-29/21:30 Ded Fomich:  Is the killing of V-man by two his colleagues still not implemented in Tyr variant? I’ve just faced such situation in my game with Cacreal.

  05-28/17:08 Corbeau:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-27/06:53 Hagbard:  The Sea battle-204577 11x11 tournament finished with #1 Chaolaibhne and L716, #3 Xerxes

  05-25/15:07 xerxes:  @Hagbard: Works now - many thanks Aage.

  05-25/14:53 Hagbard:  It should work! Please tell if it still won't

  05-25/13:36 xerxes:  @Hagbard: In my T167 Tyr game against Cacreal (I am black) I wish to move f3-f12 (captures piece on e12) then f12-f11 (reverses piece on e11), but the code won't let me - it leaves the piece on e12 on the board.  Could you have a look at it please.  Thanks.

  05-22/22:49 Bogd Khan:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-22/22:48 Bogd Khan:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-22/10:04 MasterLuke:  @OdinHimself: Thanks! I enjoyed designing them ;)

  05-22/06:38 OdinHimself:  They look great! :)

  05-21/18:28 Hagbard:  New in gallery: photos of new pieces from Luk Martens.

  05-21/10:45 Hagbard:  The Simple Tafl 11x11 tournament finished with #1 Casshern, #2 Ded fomich, #3 Chaolaibhne

  05-19/10:50 casshern:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-18/18:00 Hnefihunter:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-18/18:00 Hnefihunter:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-18/17:32 OdinHimself:  @Hagbard: Very good. :)

  05-18/16:25 Hagbard:  https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=5EejTxqqKTQ&list=RDMM

  05-17/18:09 Luizz:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-17/17:57 sqAree:  Copenhagen rules for the National tournament?

  05-17/17:55 sqAree:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-16/22:13 Hagbard:  @onelightyear: country?

  05-16/21:52 onelightyear:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-16/21:51 onelightyear:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-16/21:51 onelightyear:  Deregisters from the National Tournament 2020.

  05-16/21:51 onelightyear:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-16/21:47 onelightyear:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-16/17:03 Hagbard:  The rating list has these numbers of players per country:
USA 21, UK 9, Canada 9, Norway 9, Russia 8, France 6, Germany 6, Bulgaria 3, Ukraine 3, Brazil 3, Italy 2, Belgium 2, Denmark 1, Moldova 1, Spain 1, Mexico 1, Turkmenistan 1

  05-16/13:51 Efra:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-15/22:25 Ded Fomich:  Registers for the National Tournament 2020.

  05-15/22:24 Ded Fomich:  Garðaríki tournament sounds good.

  05-15/21:25 Hagbard:  https://sn.dk/Lejre-Lokalavis--Midtsjaellands-Folkeblad/En-haand-til-Sagnlandet-Lejre/artikel/941402
https://sagnlandet.dk/kongehallen-aabner-29-maj-2020/

  05-15/08:34 Hagbard:  FM: play 500 games and do extremely well in 3 tournaments.
CM: play 500 games and do very well in 3 tournaments.

  05-15/08:22 Thebigfoot:  What is the difference between CM and FM?

  05-15/01:39 L3monMan:  Registers for the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-15/01:35 cacreal:  Registers for the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-15/01:34 thebigfoot:  Registers for the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-15/01:23 cacreal:  Registers for the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-14/17:55 Hagbard:  The National Tournament registering button is now for all countries separately (UK, USA, Russia, Moldova etc.).
If the players of a country want to use some other variant for their tournament, it's no problem.
Primus Motor and organizer of the UK National Tournament is Steve Lonsdale ("xerxes").

  05-14/16:41 L716:  @Hagbard: Personally, I would like to participate in Russian tournament, if there would be such thing. Also, maybe it makes sense to create not just Russian tournament, but general Eastern Slavic (ie Russia, Ukraine, Belarus) and call it Garðaríki or Rus' or whatever. Thus there will be more people partiscipating.

Btw, Сергей isn't from Russia, he is from Moldova.

  05-14/16:16 Hagbard:  Would it be an idea that other countries also have a National Tournament July 1st, if the country has enough players for it?
Interested right now:
UK: xerxes, ChaolAibhne, animals
USA: Jrton80
Russia: Сергей

  05-14/14:48 Hagbard:  The "Play tafl against humans" page shows the rating list of active players, the list is updated automatically.

  05-14/10:09 L3monMan:  Also, are the ratings updated live on the board?

  05-14/10:08 L3monMan:  Why is my rating posted on the “play tafl against humans” tab?

  05-13/08:52 Сергей:  Registers for the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-12/17:00 Hagbard:  The Play Live option is reactivated.

  05-12/13:44 Thebigfoot:  @hagbard Ah I see, and it won’t be a possibility anytime soon?

  05-12/09:55 Hagbard:  The Sea battle tafl 13x13 (Nielsen) tournament finished with #1 Chaolaibhne, #2 Xerxes and Thebigfoot

  05-12/08:57 Hagbard:  It's been tried, but only one or two used it a couple of times. Now the timing is instead very tightened, so that "correspondence" games are short in time.

  05-12/02:40 thebigfoot:  @hagbard This might have already been asked before, but do you think that in the future, we might have “live” games? 
Instead of correspondence, we might have rapid games where you have 10 minutes to finish a game? Or like blitz or something...

  05-10/21:05 Jrton80:  Registers for the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-10/19:13 MasterLuke:  @Hagbard: Thanks!

  05-10/19:03 Hagbard:  fixed

  05-10/18:11 Hagbard:  But it's clear that your original drawings have nice golden crowns and beards, the golden color seems to be lost somewhere in the merging of board & pieces.

  05-10/18:03 Hagbard:  There should be no difference. The pieces are at the moment activated in Simple Tafl 11x11 only, and should look the same in all games.

  05-10/17:13 MasterLuke:  @Hagbard: Hello, I got this question from L716 and actually I was wondering it myself: the new pieces i drew for Simple Tafl can be seen differently in various games, for some curious reason... In some cases their beards are bright and golden and in others they are faded. Do you know what might be the reason?

  05-09/20:56 Hagbard:  I'll return about the setup matter after the tournament, but feel free to discuss it while you're in the mood.

  05-08/13:17 ChaolAibhne:  I was drawn to the Tablut and Tawlbyrdd variants by their historicity and their simplicity. If I was to consider simplicity alone then Simple Tafl should appeal to me even more, as it dispenses with the throne while having an almost perfect balance. However there is something about it that feels a bit odd, something which from a conversation I had with Hnefihunter I believe he also felt. I don't think it's the lack of a throne as such. Instead, as alluded to by Casshern, it may be something about the layout – perhaps the lack of 'pointiness' of the black formations, so not affording initial opportunities for attack by white, or the fact that white's pieces are somewhat strung out, or a combination of the two. I wonder if it might be worthwhile revisiting the bell-and-diamond layout used by Tawlbyrdd, but without a throne. I know that in the early days of this site this layout was one of several that were experimented with, and it was found to be rather biased towards black. But it was also found in other layouts that the presence of a throne didn't always grant a significant advantage to white. Perhaps with the greater experience that this community has accumulated we might now find that throneless bell-and-diamond is better balanced than before. Might it be worthwhile to hold an unrated tournament sometime to test that?

  05-07/23:19 thebiggerfoot:  Registers for the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-07/20:07 casshern:  @ChaolAibhne: Sorry, I didn’t respond to your post from a month ago. I have been well. Just took a break for what looks like 4 month. My longest break by far. However, for the last few weeks I have been playing on the Hnefatafl app that Riiem was talking about. I enjoyed the app very much. Now I am ready to start playing a bunch of games again. Especially the Simple Tafl Tournament. I love Simple Tafl for the fact that there is no throne or special rules. Every piece is armed, captured from two sides, and the king just needs to get to the edge. I just wish there were a more elegant set up. Anyways, happy to be playing again with everyone here. I hope everyone is keeping well, healthy, and safe during these troubling times.

  05-07/09:30 animals:  Registers for the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-07/07:23 xerxes:  The UK National Tournament is to find the 2020 National Champion for the UK (Copenhagen).  So, for UK players only.  Format will depend on the number of entries, similar to the World Championship (which runs in September).  The UK Championship will be run on similar lines to the World Championship.

  05-07/02:40 thebigfoot:  only UK residents can register for the 2020 UK tournament?

  05-07/02:18 ChaolAibhne:  @Hagbard I've registered for the UK National Tournament, but what have I actually gotten myself into? :-)

  05-07/02:16 ChaolAibhne:  Registers for the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-06/22:53 xerxes:  Registers for the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-06/22:24 test1:  Deregisters from the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-06/22:24 test1:  Registers for the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-06/22:18 test1:  Registers for the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-06/22:17 test1:  Deregisters from the UK National Tournament 2020.

  05-05/21:07 Hagbard:  The Old Hnefatafl 11x11 tournament finished with #1 Cacreal, #2 Bogd khan, #3 Jrton80

  05-05/08:51 Hagbard:  Doing very well in a tournament:
At least two opponents must be very strong, i.e. rated above 1600. You must win at least 60% of the points.
For example the latest Simple Tafl 11x11 tournament:
Two opponents, Ded Fomich and Chaolaibhne are very strong. You have 5 opponents and can win max. 10 points. If you win 60% = 6 points, you qualified in this one.

  05-05/01:00 thebigfoot:  In order to get a CM title, you need to have 500 games and do very well in 3 tournaments? If this is correct, what does “doing very well” mean?

  05-04/23:51 Hagbard:  The Tyr 13x13 tournament finished with #1 Chaolaibhne, #2 Jrton80, #3 L716 and Masterluke

  05-04/07:24 death:  @Steiger: Exactly...

  05-03/19:20 Steiger:  The Fragile Art Of Existence

  05-03/18:15 death:  When you hear the Scream of your Bloody Gore, then you'll know the Leprosy has conquered your body. The only thing that's left for you is the Spiritual Healing of your Human soul according to your Individaul Thought Pattern. This is not a Symbolic act, but the true Sound Of Perseverence.

  05-03/09:56 OdinHimself:  @Hagbard: Yes, and it's funny, because these guys come from down under - Australia. I'm glad you liked it. :)

  05-03/08:01 Hagbard:  @Brench: yes

  05-03/06:15 Jrton80:  @OdinHimself no, I am not a bully. I am a Facetious Asshole who tends to tell people things which they do not want to hear. So yes, the things I say tend to make people whine from time-to-time. I do not do these thing in a mean sprite, but many cannot see the difference.

  05-03/03:26 Brench:  Question:  I’m in an endgame situation where it looks like the opposing player will have a perpetual repetition.  But it will be a complex repitition where a long sequence of whites moves is repeated.  Can the algorithm detect arbitrarily long repeated sequences.

  05-03/01:22 Aticus:  @odinhimself bully is a strong word, I just wouldn’t trust that guy.

  05-02/23:46 Hagbard:  @OdinHimself: Good music; reminds of the Bylinnyj Bereg festival!

  05-02/13:14 OdinHimself:  @Aticus: Jrton80?!? He was the bully?

  05-02/12:52 Aticus:  Ah yes, the one who threw a tantrum over a game is talking about maturity. I still have the photos of you flipping out over a game being a draw.

  05-02/02:27 Jrton80:  If there is one observation I have made in my life, which has not actually changed over time - those who evaluate things as immature - are anything but - there is a time when you are old enough when you realize, mature or immature are not really objective observations. It is a sign on a limited mind.

  05-02/01:26 Aticus:  This is still just a game, and saying that you wouldn’t admit it in public is both silly and immature.

  05-01/23:18 jrton80:  @Bogd Khan the last I checked the 17x17 win rate was 48.00% black 50.98% white. The same attack pattern for white works for 13x13 but is harder to defend - But you are right, Playing white and you do not try to pokes holes early and often - you'er screwed - the only real difference I see is that on the 17x17, if your first thrust does not work there is a chance charging out elsewhere, whereas in the 13x13, there and no second chances unless you can bait a Black piece into the center and bonce out on it.

  05-01/22:50 jrton80:  For the 13x13 - I am seeing 66.15% Black 40.37% white win rate (sorry, I think in percentages, not ratios, I use to be able to convert them, but I have gotten lazy) - prior to the current tournament, the Black win rate was over 70%

  05-01/22:39 Jrton80:  @MasterLuke - I was just thinking about that myself - the 13x13 seems to favor Black way too much - I have found an attack pattern which seems to work pretty well, but of course, I can beat it and @Bogd Khan was not fooled by it either. I only won Black against Bogd Khan due to a lucky Berserker move.

  05-01/20:48 MasterLuke:  @ Bogd Khan: interesting note about the 'better balance' of Tyr 13x13 versus Tyr 17x17. Tyr 17x17 has a fine balance of 1.18 right now. Tyr 13x13 is not yet listed in the balance sheet but at this moment, regarding the games being played, black wins almost 2 to 1... I guess it all depends on the level of the players... :)

  05-01/20:45 Jrton80:  This is not Chess or Go, it is a Vikings game "To victory and tomorrow if we can, to victory and Valhalla if we must. This we vow." You got to look at the culture the game originated. A Culture where Victory or death or even Victory and death was the way they thought would not be playing a game where the soft option of a draw was a real possibility. Personal, if I resorted to such a tactic as the fetlar rule now allow, I would be too ashamed to admit to it much less to bring it up in public.

  05-01/20:13 L716:  @Aticus: But even if rules don't not allow draw, leading players still make mistakes sometimes.
In games with high draw statistics it might lead to the 3rd outcome - a draw; in games with low to zero it leads to a binary outcome - one will lose, another will win. Draw situations don't disappear, they split. And sometimes the losing player might become the one who wins.
The Simplest example: draw forts in Fetlar and win forts in Copenhagen. The situation is the exact same, it just gives different score.
Other example: my current game in Brandubh 2 against Unhandyandy (the one where I'm playing white). He killed all of my pieces without losing a single one of his. But his 21st move was a mistake. Now I will win.
Isn't it more satisfying than a draw? Yes, if the game is well balanced, it happens a bit less often than a draw would happen. But the last chance (or punishment for arrogance, if you wish) is still here and even more impressive.

  05-01/18:53 Aticus:  The reason why we disagree is because you come from Go and I come from chess, the fundamentals of both games are completely different. I see draws as last resort for the losing side, or as a consequence of arrogant behaviour. Therefore necessary. Nevertheless, we will always fundamentally disagree because of our backgrounds.

  05-01/13:40 L716:  @Aticus: I don't think comparison with real Xs century war is any useful nowadays. During the times of reconstruction, where there was no clear rules, the idea of "what would those people invent?" was good. But today there are well translated Linneaus' notes (which resulted in Historical Tablut) and statictics to analyse the ballance of different rulesets.
So I peronally see the rules only from the point of gameplay value.

You say you came from Chess; that might be the reason why we desagree. Because I came from Go where they deliberately rid out of draws at some point and the game is fine. Also if we take Shogi (aka Japanese Chess) we will see that the amount of draws is very low because some draw situations (like pat, for example) are literally don't exist. And for my personal taste this game is more interesting to play than European chess (altrough, it's probably due to other features, not the lack of draws only).
And I also previously mentioned less popular Fox-family that by the core idea is fairly similar to Tafl-family and usualy don't have the concept of draw too.

So, when you say  "draws are a necessary thing" I just don't get why, because in my expirience they are not. Maybe if you'll explayn more, your point become more clear to me.

  05-01/12:28 Aticus:  I’m only arguing the point that draws are a necessary thing, not a bad thing. I come from chess, and in my experience, I’ve blundered won positions, and saved my games by drawing a lost position. It teaches you, or at least it should.

  05-01/12:26 Aticus:  I don’t agree that less draws equals better games, if you look at it historically, not everywhere war was won or lost, some
end up in stalemate. It’s a common theme even in human nature. Now when we examine tafl, and I’m only using this comparison because a lot of people here compare tafl to how Vikings fought, we can see that draws would be a last resort for the losing side. Say a the winning side becomes arrogant and plays sub optimal moves and blunders into a drawn position, that is not a flaw in the rules, but a flaw in the players choice of moves.

  05-01/10:52 L716:  Aticus: Well, if rules allow draw, then players will try to get it in games they can't win. It's obvious and there is nothing bad in such behavior. My point is: good rules should not allow draws or at least should minimise them.
The term "Draw Death" invented in chess for a reason. I personally don't think draws will actually kill chess, but it seems many people (including some grandmasters) don't like increasing ammout of draws. Because, you know, It's a competetive game - one wins, one loses.

>Go and tafl are not the same style of game
Fair point, but tafl and chass are also not the same style of games. Tafl is an assimetrical game where players have different sets of pieces and different goals. This leads us, to, for example, another old family of games - Fox games (i.e De Cercar la Liebre, Refskák, Bag Chal etc). Have you ever saw a draw there?

  05-01/10:05 Aticus:  They were not joking but I am not offended, I just think it is absolutely childish and immature that a player throws a tantrum over something so silly. Ah well, if anyone ever needs the evidence I have it, just please don’t let people like that run the sight.

  05-01/10:01 Aticus:  I see your point, but a draw can be reached from both players not making any mistakes, that doesn’t make the game boring or exhausted. Draws in games like chess and draughts are common, and they are mature games. Go and tafl are not the same style of game, so it is not a fair comparison. My main point was that if you can win, then win, and if you’re in a position where a draw is the only “winning” idea for you, then draw. There shouldn’t be complaints about someone wanting to draw when the game is still playable.

  05-01/09:26 L716:  And, as far as I'm aware, cursing players and cursing players and threatening them is not allowed. Are you sure it was not misunderstanding? Maybe someone has a bit weird sense of humor. But if you are sure it was not a humor, then contact Hagbard, I think he'll do something about it.

  05-01/09:15 L716:  @Aticus: The situation you are talking about is called "Zugzwang" and it's pretty normal in traditional board games. It is possible to avoid such situation by allowing players to skip their moves (and some traditional games also do that), but I'm not sure skiping moves is suited for Tafl-games. 
And about draws: if two players in a game agree it's a draw, so be it. But at the same time on a rule lewel I think we should avoid draws as much as possible. If most of the games end up in a draw, that does not mean game is "mature", it means people have exhausted its potential. Take tic-tac-toe, for example: if two players are not six years old then all their games will end up in a draw. You can say it's balanced, but do you think it's interesting? On the other hand there are other traditional games like Go (Weiqi/Baduk) where draw is impossible. I'm pretty sure you won't call Go immature game.

  05-01/06:28 Bogd Khan:  Fetlar and Copenhagen has great balances and respect for the creators of these games. Old Hnefatafl has a big advantage for the black player and there are too easy ways to block a corner with only 2-3 moves and with only two pieces.

  05-01/06:24 Bogd Khan:  I think that more players need to read the rules of Fetlar game. In the last tournament at least 3 players playing white was able to make a draw when attacked my corner with a single king. The classical draw that Hagbard said. No one did.

  05-01/06:21 Bogd Khan:  I noticed a problem when playing tyr 17x17. It's too easy to blacks to surround the whites if whites play too defensive but for whites is too easy to make two castles 2x2 and blacks could not kill the king when there are 2 castles and he is somewhere between them. Tyr 13x13 is definitely better balanced.

  05-01/00:27 Aticus:  Another thing about draws, if you want a game to mature, it must allow draws. Especially when play becomes more advanced, if you take an example from other games like chess or checkers, you’ll see that the majority of high rated players draw more than win or lose. In most cases, if a player blunders then there will be a win or loss, but if no players blunder but do not want to blunder, they should be allowed to draw.

  05-01/00:20 Aticus:  Can someone please tell me if cussing players out and threatening them is allowed on this sight? 
I have evidence of a certain player being pretty colourful with their language when the game didn’t go as he planned. On a different note, draws happen when both players dont push for a win or they are unable to. Why should a player be forced to weaken his position to push for something that will ultimately lead to a loss? That kind of thinking makes no sense to me.

  04-30/14:36 OdinHimself:  A musical greeting to all tafl players at Aage's of me, Odin, I'm glad I know you, we are the best tafl community worldwide! And to our caring host Hagbard, our true Vikinge Høvding, respect! Skal, Odin with us!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0EQdGh_PmI

  04-29/20:46 Jrton80:  That's fine by me - I was just under the misapprehension it was supposed to work - That's all

  04-29/20:34 MasterLuke:  I meant 'the defender's KING must try to reach the end, of course

  04-29/20:33 MasterLuke:  Personally, I don't mind if there is no surround-rule in the Tyr game. To me, there's no such thing as a 'draw', unless both players agree on it (for example if a game should get boring or taking too long)... As the man who set up the rules and from a true warriors view: the attackers MUST kill the king, NOT merely surround him, to win the game. Likewise, the defender MUST try to reach the edge instead of 'staying home, cosy between his own men'. That's no way to win... So no draw forts and/or surroundings here. This fits perfectly in my goal to make the rules as simple as possible. Agree?

  04-29/19:00 Hagbard:  Yes, in the Tyr game the rule is not added at all, also when there are no commanders left

  04-29/18:59 Jrton80:  FYI - speaking of the Surround, it is still not working on the Tyr 13x13 even when the are no commanders are left

  04-29/18:56 Hagbard:  The Fetlar Panel does not have a "capture 2 blacks" rule. We had it here for some time because of the Monstrosity Fort, where white creates a draw fort in two initial moves and cannot be stopped

  04-29/18:56 Jrton80:  Oooooo THAT's why the surround started working - I did wonder about that

  04-29/18:52 Jrton80:  In my game with aticus - zero Black pieces have been taken

  04-29/18:40 Hagbard:  capture 2 blacks - that was only to prevent the "monstrosity two-move castle" in center of the board, which is now instead prevented by surrounding all whites. Your case of eternal check in a corner is a classic, happens all the time in Fetlar

  04-29/18:36 Hagbard:  The Old Hnefatafl does not allow it (repetitions and draw forts).

  04-29/18:35 Jrton80:  Wait a minute - was there not a rule where a capture of at least 2 black pieces was required? or was it just 2?

  04-29/18:32 Jrton80:  Well, then I guess I am not playing Fetlar anymore if that kind of simple minded bullshit is acceptable - I still say that a Draw can only really happen with the consent of both players

  04-29/17:38 Hagbard:  In the sheet from the Fetlar Panel:
There are occasions where the game can be drawn. These are:
...
3. If the King cannot reach a refuge square and the attacker cannot reach the King.
- or in our formulation:
9.   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.

  04-29/17:31 Hagbard:  This is one of the reasons why Adam Bartley, Tim Millar and myself created the Copenhagen game. Copenhagen is = Fetlar plus a few additions, which do away with repetitions and draw forts.

  04-29/17:28 jrton80:  Plus - I may add I am not seeing anything like that in the rules - but I could be missing something

  04-29/17:24 jrton80:  And when did this happen? Please do recall, I always did find that an extremely limited thinking - As long as you have options it is not a draw

  04-29/16:27 Hagbard:  It actually is a draw. The Fetlar Panel chaired by Peter Kelly decided that as played on the island Fetlar, games can end in draw forts and eternal repetitions, all of which is considered a draw.

  04-29/15:01 jrton80:  Would someone PLEASE explain to aticus how the Fetlar game we are currently playing is not a Draw

  04-28/23:37 MasterLuke:  @ChaolAibhne and @Bogd Khan and the others: sorry for my late reaction, but as Hagbard explained, this is indeed a bug. In Tyr, or other games with Berserk moves: It is certainly NOT allowed for the commander to make another move or jump without capturing a piece in the same turn.

  04-28/19:35 Bogd Khan:  There was a similar bug before where in beresrk games you were allowed to jump over a piece and after that to take capture

  04-28/16:18 ChaolAibhne:  Thanks @Hagbard. I wanted to make sure that what I had encountered before was indeed a bug and not a legitimate feature that might catch me out later.

  04-28/14:49 Hagbard:  Only when you captured a piece, you can move on, and then only if you again capture a piece. Same as in checkers, only that in the berserk it's voluntary

  04-28/13:35 ChaolAibhne:  @Hagbard And do the rules allow multiple jumps if only the last jump captures? To give a concrete example, in my game as black against Jrton80, if I were to play d8-e8xe9, could white respond with f8-d8-d10xe10?

  04-28/12:52 Hagbard:  The intention of the program is, that going back to the start position of the latest part of the berserk move cancels this latest part.
However, there is a bug somewhere in the berserk moving routines, which is hard to find and correct, so if you happen to be able to do an illegal move, then please initiate the move over again to do a legal move.

  04-28/12:22 ChaolAibhne:  @Hagbard and @MasterLuke, in one of my games of Tyr 13 I found something that may be a bug or it may just be a feature that I don't know about. After making a commander jump over a piece to make a capture, I found that I was being allowed in that same turn to jump back to the original position without making another capture. This didn't seem to fit with what I knew of the berserker rule. I thought this was probably a bug and so I didn't make use of it. However I'd like to know whether this is in fact allowed by the rules, as in one of my games I can see some chance of this coming up again (but with me on the receiving end).

  04-28/07:47 Hagbard:  Thanks for notifying, the link is changed to http://aagenielsen.dk/historical_hnefatafl_rules.php

  04-27/20:00 Ded Fomich:  @Hagbard Please add the repetitions rule in the Simple Tafl ruleset, there is no mention of it there: http://aagenielsen.dk/simple_hnefatafl_rules.php

  04-27/01:16 thebigfoot:  @Hagbard I was thinking of an “anti” tafl variant, where the goal of the game is to get rid of your pieces before your opponent. Captured are forced. I’m still working on a balanced opening position that doesn’t immediately win for black, but I feel I’m getting close. If that can be an idea I would love to share what I found.

  04-26/14:39 Hagbard:  what do you have in mind?

  04-26/13:47 Thebigfoot:  Hey all I was wondering if anymore variants of tafl could be accepted?

  04-25/06:55 Hagbard:  The Sea battle tafl 13x13 tournament finished with #1 Chaolaibhne, #2 Bogd khan, #3 L716 and Xerxes

  04-24/05:14 Riiem:  For myself, i miss PTO and Opentaflbot on it, playing on opentaflbot itself, without pto frame, not the same XD

  04-23/19:37 MasterLuke:  @branan and @Riiem: how I wish I had the knowledge of making websites or apps... Now I 'merely' design pieces or make drawings to dress up things a bit... Me too find that Tafl deservers far more appreciation worldwide! I tried the Philip Schober app too, I found it to be too slow in reaction. But kudos to him credits for trying, and it looks rather nice, though...

  04-23/19:18 branan:  Of course I do! But a website on a smartphone can't offer the same possibilities an app could. For example: notifications, background update with pushed data, offline / asynchronous moves, and so on.
But the most important thing is game visibility: Apple and Google app stores give a very good opportunity to increase Tafl games popularity worldwide.

  04-23/14:59 Riiem:  @Branan but you can play on mobile with the site? I do that all the time

  04-23/14:59 Riiem:  @Hagbard lol! Glad to hear that, since my english is challenging me, the coincidence of your sayin just after me was confusing me ahah

  04-23/11:21 branan:  I tried Philip Schober's app and I didn't like it. But it would be great if Hagbard could make us a mobile application using the site's PHP code and graphics (with PhoneGap for example).

  04-23/08:36 MasterLuke:  I am happy to see that game variant 'Tyr 17x17' of which I set up the rules, has a fine balance of 1.18 (1.08 overall) at this moment. Also, I've made a small change in the rules sheet by adding a sentence regarding the king who can do a berserk move and escape at the same time. I felt it could be unclear to new players, hence the update.
On the other hand, the ongoing Tyr 13x13 tournament shows this game favours black too much - at least, right now.

  04-23/07:13 Hagbard:  The French remark was about one Russian player, who switched to French and used it for some unpretty utterances.

  04-23/02:17 Riiem:  @Jrton80 - I know for the AIs, they are really dumb... but is there some good AI out there excepts Fishbreath's Open Tafl?

@Hagbard - I dont get you for the french sentence, is it an expression or you are telling me to watch my french, since i'm french speaking?

  04-22/22:54 Hagbard:  The Sea battle tafl 15x15 tournament finished with #1 Chaolaibhne, #2 Xerxes, #3 Masterluke

  04-22/22:38 Hagbard:  Because there were examples of some creative use of the French language recently (inappropriate)

  04-22/13:10 branan:  @Hagbard why did you wrote that: "Please, please, watch your French, also in French..." ?

  04-22/09:03 Hagbard:  It is possible

  04-22/01:21 L716:  I'm currently thinking there should be a limitation on how many identical open game invitations one might have in the list at the same time. What is your opinion, Hagbard?

  04-21/22:37 Hagbard:  No, but I knew about Fellhuhn, he is on my link page

  04-21/20:39 Jrton80:  @Riiem - I checked out that app, the AI still suck but I just noticed there are different AIs so I'll have to poke around a bit - it seems to have the H1-J1 opening which it just loves and is just way too easy to pick apart, and the Berserker did some things which made no sense even by the Apps rules, but the jumping King is a rather interesting twist. @Hagbard - this site is linked twice in the rules - did you know about this?

  04-20/22:32 Hagbard:  Please, please, watch your French, also in French...

  04-19/22:43 Riiem:  Just posting here cause i know peoples like diversity, but Hnefatafl app, by Fellhuhn (Philip Schober on app stores) had a maaaajor update lately! Elo rating and online matching up are now working well.

It badly needs good players over there, to show how challenging it can be. For now i am fourth on the rank there over maaany players. It's not normal lol so come show people what are real good players on a app that has thousands of players.

  04-15/16:07 Hagbard:  Cirka a tournament per week. Next one in some days, Tyr 13x13.

  04-15/15:44 Kraken:  Thank you, are there going to be any other tournaments after Old Hnefatafl?

  04-14/14:40 Hnefihunter:  Ok)

  04-14/14:19 Hagbard:  FM: high results in tough tournaments.
IM: won over half the globe, Europe & Asia.
NM: National Master, best in UK.

  04-14/14:03 Hnefihunter:  What's the difference between FM, IM, NM?

  04-14/08:32 Hagbard:  GM: win a World Master tourn.
FM: play 500 games and do extremely well in 3 tournaments.
CM: play 500 games and do very well in 3 tournaments.
You have the chance right now: you could join the Old Hnefatafl tourn., win and become OldH. Master.

  04-14/08:05 kraken:  Hi, does anyone know how to become a master with a Title? (CM, FM, IM) etc.

  04-13/22:42 Hagbard:  The Fetlar Hnefatafl 11x11 tournament finished with #1 Bogd Khan, #2 Jrton80, #3 Hnefihunter

  04-11/06:18 Riiem:  @Hnefihunter and @L716, Playtaflonline is currently broken for the subscriptions, the admin, Tuireann, is not working on the site for the moment, due to other professionnal occupations.

  04-09/11:51 ChaolAibhne:  It occurred to me that I haven't seen Casshern around here for a while, and the games archive shows that he last played three months ago, which is an unusually long absence for him. Given the times we are in, does anyone know he is OK?
Full contents of the small forum.
Hnefatafl is also known by the names Nefatavl, The King's Table, The Viking Game, Viking Chess, Tablut or simply Tafl.
History of this site.
Art on this site.
Comments on Hnefatafl.
The origin of the Viking board game Hnefatafl and the Berserk rules.
Links to more information on the Viking board game Hnefatafl.
Tafl Shops.
Viking word of wisdom: The Hávamál.
(Havámál på dansk).
World Tafl Federation Championship 2019 started Sep. 15th 2019.
See the tournament page.
Здесь можно играть в тавлеи и против компьютера, и против людей. Можно использовать кириллицу.
Many thanks to Adam Bartley ("Adam"), Tim Millar ("crust"), Gregory Binns ("Torc"), John C. Ashton, Nicolas Cartier, Jonas Lööf ("conanlibrarian"), Olli Salmi, Damian Walker ("cyningstan"), Sten Helmfrid, Rene Gralla, Olga Mudrichenko, Gary and Christa (Germany), Ludovic Antoine, Nikolas Lloyd, Jeffrey Westcoat ("Sigurd"), Rasmus Holbroe, Thore Nissen, Lucho Panchev ("OdinHimself"), Alexander Steiger Dis ("Steiger"), Dmitry Pashkov, Delray Curtis ("jrton80"), David Zolli ("branan"), Luk Martens ("Masterluke") and Marian Luck ("themightyglider") for their contribution to this site. And not least the more than 400 players the world over who played here more than 15000 real tafl games humans against humans and thus created a vast, practical experience with this intriguing, historical board game.
Updated 7.7.2020