Hey!
My name is Gustaf. I've been interested in tafl on and off for years, but it's been ages since I played here.
My interest was brought back a year or so ago, when I started a small side project to bring board games into the Children's Museum section of the National Museum of Denmark (where I currently work as a custodian, though I have an MA in European Ethnology which I hope to make use of at some point...). An old wooden table was sitting there completely unused, but carved into the surface it had a checkered 8x8 board and a Nine Men's Morris setup on either side.
My first ruleset was made for Brandub since it can be played on the 8x8 board, ignoring a row and a column. I still bring it out once in a while when I'm in there and have time. It uses some nice brown/red wooden and white bone checkers pieces. The corners are marked with coins or four flint stones (actually looks quite good), and the centre marked by a Viking Age copper coin replica with a raven on one side. The rules were derived mostly from Damian Walker's websites, closest to what you call "Brandubh 1" here, but with more Tablut traits, since re-entering the throne is not allowed, and it now includes the Tablut rule for the rare occasion when the king is enclosed by three enemies on the throne (making the throne hostile towards defending pieces). It works quite well I think, slightly favorable towards defenders still of course - but a single mistake can be fatal. A fun and fast game for a place where long games might not be viable anyway.
During the Autumn school break, the museum had a Viking Age theme, and in the main entrance area we had three tables set up with Hnefatafl, where anyone could sit down and play. The organizers used the National Museum of Scotland blue game set with a linen board, which is sold in our museum shop - and for rules they used the Fetlar version, actually a print from this website (https://aagenielsen.dk/fetlar_regler.php). They tried organizing small tournaments each day, but the turn out was quite low. The organizers were also not entirely aware of the balance discrepancies, so sides were chosen at random with just a single game deciding the winner each time. Not ideal - however, the casual play was flourishing! People really enjoyed sitting down and trying it out, and the museum shop sold plenty of copies, so they were also happy.
This lead to the next step of my side project. I was approached by one of the museum shop employees, and asked to make a nicely looking ruleset for the museum, perhaps for social media use or future developments of our own game sets. Firstly, however, they wanted a version for the one they are currently selling (i.e. Fetlar rules, even though the booklet in the box left out a few specifics and rules, e.g. the hostile throne rule). Personally I am more interested in the historical rules for Tablut, Tawlbwrdd (and reconstructions of Brandub), so I'm currently trying to convince them that, if we make our own game set, we should make it so it's possible to play three sizes: 11x11, 9x9, and 7x7.
So, now I've also made rulesets for the historical variants as I perceive them. In this regard Damian Walker's webiste was invaluable for the historical details, while this site was immensely helpful when looking at game balance (and forum discussions). My variants are more aimed at historical presentation and casual play than competition, so I did not feel obliged e.g. to designate starting sides for most of the variants (no historical sources designate the starting side) and currently that means I have at least 10 historical/reconstructed variants on the three board sizes above (including identical ones with different starting sides, with our without special centre/corner squares):
- 11x11 Tawlbwrdd Lewis Cross without special centre (Simple Tafl), flip a coin for starting side.
- 11x11 Tawlbwrdd Lewis Cross with all Tablut/Linnaeus rules, flip a coin for starting side.
- 9x9 Tablut without special centre (Simple Tafl), flip a coin for starting side.
- 9x9 Tablut with all Linnaeus rules, flip a coin for starting side.
- 7x7 Brandub with edge win and without special centre or corners ("Ard rí", but really it's just Simple Tafl/Brandub), attacker starting.
- 7x7 Brandub with all Tablut/Linnaeus rules, corner win, and hostile corners, attacker starting.
I also included the warning words both from Tablut and Tawlbwrdd, since I think that brings a lot of flavour to the game when played face to face.
Tablut has:
- Raichi (hole/opening)
- Tuichu (through them)
Tawlbwrdd has:
- Gwrheill (goes hale)
- Gwiliwch eich brenin (watch your king)
Tawlbwrdd's "gwrheill" I interpreted as "goes hale" (or modern Danish "går i helle"), from Old Norse "gengr heill" (literally "it goes healthy/hale"), which should be said when you wish to place any piece unharmed between two enemy pieces/squares. This word was not translated in the original attempt in Murray's interpretation, and no satisfactory Welsh translation seems viable (not sure where Wikipedia's interpretation "I am your liegeman" comes from, since it's not from the original). It makes sense that a game whose name itself is a Norse borrowing, "Taflborð", has a Norse-derived warning word in the mix.
"Gwiliwch eich brenin" is a bit tricky in the original since the description is hard to understand, but my interpretation is that it's basically a way to say "check" when the king is threatened.
In the compiled variants I shortened the warning words, like this:
Hale! - when placing one of your pieces
unharmed between two enemy pieces.
Open! - if there’s an opening.
Through! - if there are two openings.
Hnefinn! (the king!) - if the king
is threatened by the next move.
I'm still refining the National Museum of Denmark rulesets and their graphical presentation, but the majority of the work is done.
I hope I can take advantage of the positive reception of the game in the museum, so we get more interest in the historical board games and perhaps events and new historical game sets in the future (I also intend, time permitting, to compile rulesets for other historical board games found in the museum, e.g. ludus latrunculorum, grammai, Batak catur, congklak/dakon, etc).
The current special Viking Age exhibition of the museum is even using a Hnefatafl king's piece as a central part (the amber one from Roholte). It's used to portray the game pieces lost and found during and after Ragnarök, as an important element of Völuspá (the theme of the exhibition). This exhibition is going to be displayed for at least three years, so now is the time to take advantage of that as well.
Here's a short video (in Danish) that they made about the Roholte piece and Hnefatafl:
https://www.facebook.com/nationalmuseet ... 457522856/
I'll probably comment on some of the historical game rules here on the forum. See you there!
PS.
@Aage Nielsen: I actually visited Ringsted medieval market this year and saw the board game tent, but unfortunately I didn't have time to stay for games as I had to look after my 2-year-old daughter. Hopefully I'll be able to sit down, say hi, and play next time!
Greetings!
Re: Greetings!
Hi Gustaf.
I also nowadays prefer tafl boards without special squares marked, and then if needed mark them with coins.
One tafl board for playing more sizes like 7x7, 9x9 and 11x11 sounds like a good idea; as you surely already know, boards have been found for 9x9 & 11x11 on the same board.
Very interesting explanation indeed of Tawlbwrdd's "gwrheill"!!!
I enjoyed the video.
For many years I've been part of the Ubby Board Game day twice a year (spring and autumn holidays).
The visitors there are parents and school children, and they generally know nothing about tafl games, except that a few children heard about it and tried it in school.
The first year I used the Tablut 9x9 game with all rules, and also gave the opportunity to try Tawlbwrdd 11x11 with all rules.
The next year, I found out that it was much simpler for me to explain and everybody to learn, if you ignore the throne.
Nowadays I always use for total beginners that variant, which you call "9x9 Tablut without special centre (Simple Tafl)".
I call it "Market Hnefatafl", because it works so well for introducing new players to the game, and it works practically just as well as the full game.
I let the beginner start regardless of the colour; otherwise white starts.
The rules sheets available beside on the table give however the full rules set (Historical Hnefatafl 9x9 (Saami Tablut-w)), for interested beginners to take home.
For your tournament at the National Museum, I guess that fx. the Market Hnefatafl 9x9 would be much easier and quicker for the visitors than Fetlar 11x11.
Adam Bartley is a collegue of yours, working at Norwegian museums.
It is fun that you were at the Ringsted Middelalderfestival! Everything worked very well for us board game people this year.
Aage Nielsen
I also nowadays prefer tafl boards without special squares marked, and then if needed mark them with coins.
One tafl board for playing more sizes like 7x7, 9x9 and 11x11 sounds like a good idea; as you surely already know, boards have been found for 9x9 & 11x11 on the same board.
Very interesting explanation indeed of Tawlbwrdd's "gwrheill"!!!
I enjoyed the video.
For many years I've been part of the Ubby Board Game day twice a year (spring and autumn holidays).
The visitors there are parents and school children, and they generally know nothing about tafl games, except that a few children heard about it and tried it in school.
The first year I used the Tablut 9x9 game with all rules, and also gave the opportunity to try Tawlbwrdd 11x11 with all rules.
The next year, I found out that it was much simpler for me to explain and everybody to learn, if you ignore the throne.
Nowadays I always use for total beginners that variant, which you call "9x9 Tablut without special centre (Simple Tafl)".
I call it "Market Hnefatafl", because it works so well for introducing new players to the game, and it works practically just as well as the full game.
I let the beginner start regardless of the colour; otherwise white starts.
The rules sheets available beside on the table give however the full rules set (Historical Hnefatafl 9x9 (Saami Tablut-w)), for interested beginners to take home.
For your tournament at the National Museum, I guess that fx. the Market Hnefatafl 9x9 would be much easier and quicker for the visitors than Fetlar 11x11.
Adam Bartley is a collegue of yours, working at Norwegian museums.
It is fun that you were at the Ringsted Middelalderfestival! Everything worked very well for us board game people this year.
Aage Nielsen
Re: Greetings!
I really like the simple 11x11 and 9x9, and yeah, definitely also better for beginners even though they can be quite punishing (one wrong move can be decisive).
Besides, personally I find the focus on full encirclement in higher level Fetlar play (and similar corner win, strong king variants) a bit tiring and “grindy”.
Besides, personally I find the focus on full encirclement in higher level Fetlar play (and similar corner win, strong king variants) a bit tiring and “grindy”.