crust wrote:I think this rule would rescue the Fetlar version from the draw problem.
arne64 wrote:I think this would be great for all versions of Hnefatafl. I just had the problem in a tournament game of Scand. museums Hnefatafl where the white player drew before a single piece got killed.
Adam wrote:I can see one problem. How would this fit in with the board repetition rule? Forbidding board repetition removes draw forts unless they are specified in the rules (as in Copenhagen). In order to avoid perpetual check threats one would need to create a rule that allows draw forts, but forbids other forms of perpetual move draw positions. Tricky perhaps?
The problem with a draw is the early center fort. And in the extreme, the Monstrous Draw Fort.
Currently these variants forbid repetitions:
Copenhagen Hnefatafl
Berserk Hnefatafl
Sea Battle Tafl
Moreover the attackers in Berserk Hnefatafl can break draw forts using the commanders.
The 9x9 board is too small for building a center fort.
Left are these variants, which are exposed to misuse of the center fort draw. The variants are identical with respect to doubtful center forts (like the Monstrous Draw Fort), which are built the same way in all of them:
Hnefatafl 11x11
Fetlar Hnefatafl 11x11
Scand. museums Hnefatafl edge 11x11
Scand. museums Hnefatafl 11x11
Unst unarmed king tafl 11x11
Unst unarmed king tafl edge 11x11
The past two years 1800 tafl games were played on this site. Counting the draws in the exposed variants gives 42 draws:
24 center forts
5 edge forts
1 corner fort
9 perpetual checks
2 cases of too few pieces left on both sides
1 case of white not able to move
With 0 black pieces killed:
3 normal draws and 9 doubtful draws.
With 1 black pieces killed:
3 normal draws and 4 doubtful draws.
With 2 black pieces killed:
5 normal draws and 1 doubtful draw.
With 3 black pieces killed:
9 normal draws and 0 doubtful draws.
More than 3 black pieces killed:
8 normal draws and 0 doubtful draws.
It looks like a suitable threshold to abandon draws with 0 or 1 black pieces killed and to allow draws with 2 or more black pieces killed?