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Re: Tafl in Russia

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:10 pm
by Ded Fomich
Last Saturday (17.02.2018) a Tavlei tournament took place at the same location (the hobby centre “Geek Wars” in Moscow), this event was organised by Dmitriy Pashkov. The used rules set was “Skalk Hnefatafl 9×9 (ExpoMedia) − defender’s capture against the throne even if the king is standing on it + the king can return to the throne + the range of king’s movement is limited to three squares = the modern Russian Tavlei rules (the “Obereg” edition).

Despite of some problems, such as a surprisingly huge number of the participants and bystanders (there was not enough room and there were not enough boards for all those who wished to take part in the tournament, people stood in line to play their games), the limited event’s time, the chosen tournament’s format (because of this kind of pandemonium the players were forced to play only for one randomly chosen side in the eliminatory games to save the time) and unbalanced rules (many players noticed that), it was a breathtaking tournament and a very agreeable pastime.

Here are some photos from the participants (it’s a continuously growing album): https://vk.com/album-105837205_251619898

The official tournament’s statistics from Dmitriy will be hopefully available soon.

The tafl tournaments in Moscow seem to stay regular, that’s good news. But I hope that we shall be able to play other more balanced tafl variants in the new tournaments and all that organising problems will be avoided in the future. First and foremost, we shall continue to spread the word of the Historical Hnefatafl rules in praise of Tablut and Tawlbwrdd. Also Steiger keeps training some people using Fetlar (it’s easier to explain to the beginners) and Copenhagen rules. And of course we shall not stop inviting people to register and start playing all available variants on aagenielsen.dk and playtaflonline.com. Maybe it helps to steer some traffic to our beloved websites.

By the way, I like a lot the Aage’s idea of the Simple Tafl 11×11 rules (Tawlbwrdd throneless Lewis cross 11×11), it’s very easy to explain, it seems to be quite good balanced and it’s very entertaining. Could these nice and simple rules be used on the 9×9 board and could they be simultaneously acceptable balanced?

Re: Tafl in Russia

Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 2:28 pm
by Hagbard
Amazing!!
Ded Fomich wrote:
Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:10 pm
But I hope that we shall be able to play other more balanced tafl variants in the new tournaments ... First and foremost, we shall continue to spread the word of the Historical Hnefatafl rules in praise of Tablut and Tawlbwrdd.
With a very small change the game is well balanced on your fine 9x9 game sets:
Just ignore the forbidden corner squares and use them as regular squares, and let the king win on the edge!

We believe that this is the game described in Linné's diary.

The small details of defenders always captured against the throne and the king's limited movement, I'd expect to be of negligible importance to the balance.
Ded Fomich wrote:
Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:10 pm
the Simple Tafl 11×11 rules (Tawlbwrdd throneless Lewis cross 11×11), ... Could these nice and simple rules be used on the 9×9 board and could they be simultaneously acceptable balanced?
There's about but one reasonable setup for the pieces on the 9x9 board - namely the setup you use.
Without the throne, the 9x9 game (no forbidden corners, king wins on edge) will probably be less balanced in favour of the attackers, as the throne probably gives the king some protection. But actually we did never test if it is so.
Ded Fomich wrote:
Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:10 pm
And of course we shall not stop inviting people to register and start playing all available variants on aagenielsen.dk and playtaflonline.com.
You're most welcome!!

Re: Tafl in Russia

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 5:12 pm
by Ded Fomich
Hagbard wrote:
Wed Feb 21, 2018 2:28 pm
Without the throne, the 9x9 game (no forbidden corners, king wins on edge) will probably be less balanced in favour of the attackers, as the throne probably gives the king some protection. But actually we did never test if it is so.
Yes, obviously that’s not a good idea, at least with the standard starting position. I played several games, the king feels any worse than in Saami Tablut under the protection of the throne.

Re: Tafl in Russia

Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 6:53 pm
by Ded Fomich
A review of hnefatafl made by Dmitriy Pashkov for a YouTube channel “THE STATION” devoted to board games, quite big target audience was reached by this video:

https://youtu.be/85t0pj8brZ4

Re: Tafl in Russia

Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 11:53 am
by Hagbard
Thank you!!! I inserted the video in the front page if it's ok.

Re: Tafl in Russia

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 9:43 am
by Ded Fomich
Thanks a lot for publishing!