I am Delray Curtis, a.k.a jrton80 here and elsewhere - which is a Dart reference I started using once I started picking up ton 80 in Darts (3 triple 20s). Of course, I am so out of practice - I only hit one the last time I played a _01 game.
This is the third time I attempted to write something for this section of the forum, the last two times I did not copy the text, and when I click submit - my login had timed-out. As I often like to say, I was blonde before I lost my hair.
I started playing Tafl in February 2017. A co-worker and I would play Chess, but I was never a very consistent player - I could win a few games with some real authority, almost like I really knew what I was doing, but overall the ratio was 2 to 1 him - and I got the spreadsheet to prove it.
I read - that is my thing, being a computer geek only pays the bills. While chatting over the chessboard, what we referred to for a long time as “The Viking game” came up. If I have one weakness in Chess (more than the general lack of strategic thinking) I tend to disregard the Bishops - You cannot get a Checkmate with just 2 bishops - so I crash my bishops into practically anywhere even if only get doubled pawns. Then I started reading about “The Viking game” (I had seen the word Hnefatafl by then, but it was still thinking it the Viking game in my head) Every piece moves like a rook, 2 sided capture of the pawns and 4 sided on the King (Discovered Feltner first so i have always been more at home with armed Kings - I really need to work of that) none of that annoying diagonal stuff. What was not to like? I bought a board for work, my buddy from work bought the chess board after all, the win/lost went in my favor 59% overall.
A year and a half later, I work from home now, so I do not get any real world board time - I rarely get out of the house at all anymore. While it is Great not having that commute, I do find myself engaging unfortunate strangers in over long conversation just about every time I do leave the house.