Artist: Copyright © Luk Martens (Feb. 2020).
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Artist: Copyright © Luk Martens (Feb. 2020).
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Historical Hnefatafl.
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17.5.2016. Theory of Historical Hnefatafl: The tafl games "Brandubh" (Ireland), "Ard Ri" (Scotland), "Tablut" (Sápmi), "Tawlbwrdd" (Wales. Tavlbord is a Scandinavian word and means gameboard) and "Hnefatafl" (Iceland) are all one and the same game: the Iron- and Viking Age Scandinavian board game Hnefatafl. Aage Nielsen, Denmark. |
Historical Hnefatafl Rules.
Historical Hnefatafl Rules (Adam Bartley for print)
Simple Tafl rules.
Rules for Brandubh 7x7 (Walker).
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Regler for Tablut på dansk. Regler for Simpel Tafl på dansk Regler for Simpel Tafl på dansk til print. |
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Rules for Brandubh1 and Brandubh2 in French and in English by David Zolli, "branan", for print: Règles du Brandubh1 en français, pdf Règles du Brandubh1 en français, docx Règles du Brandubh2 en français, pdf Règles du Brandubh2 en français, docx Brandubh2 rules in English, pdf Brandubh2 rules in English, docx Rules for Brandubh2 in German by Marian Luck, "themightyglider", for print: Brandubh2 Regeln auf deutsch, pdf Brandubh2 Regeln auf deutsch, docx Rules for Brandubh2 in Portuguese by Wesley Alves, for print: Brandubh2 rules in Portuguese, pdf Brandubh2 rules in Portuguese, docx Rules for Brandubh2 in Italian by Alessandro Arzani, for print: Regole del Brandubh2 in italiano, pdf |
Simple Tafl 11x11.
No restricted squares.
Market Hnefatafl 9x9 (Nielsen setup)
Tested at aagenielsen.dk, first time used at Ringsted Medieval Festival 2022, Denmark.
Simple Tafl 11x11
Tyr Hnefatafl.
Artist: Copyright © Luk Martens (Oct. 2020).
No restricted squares. Berserk rules (but weak king and win on edge).
Tyr Hnefatafl rules (Luk Martens)
Tyr 11x11
Copenhagen Hnefatafl 11x11.
Shieldwall capture. Exit fort win.
Copenhagen Hnefatafl rules.
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Introduction to the Copenhagen rules (Tim Millar) Doctor Crustus explains shieldwalls (Tim Millar) Kopengagenskiy Hnefatafl (Ethnic Board Games) Copenhagen Hnefatafl, Introduction, History, How to Play (Damian Walker for print) Educational videos at the bottom of this page. |
Fetlar Hnefatafl 11x11.
Draw forts and repetitions allowed: Eternal repetitions are draws.
Fetlar Hnefatafl rules.
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Fetlar Hnefatafl rules (Fetlar Hnefatafl Panel)
and here (Damian Walker for print) Фетлар правила по-русски. Fetlar Regeln auf deutsch. Fetlar Règles en français. Fetlar regler på dansk. |
Old Hnefatafl 11x11.
Same rules as Fetlar, but the king can be captured on the board edge and can thus be captured by two attackers when on a square next to a corner. Draw forts and repetitions not allowed.
Berserk Hnefatafl 11x11.
Berserk moves. Two more types of pieces: a knight and four commanders. No rule about encircling all defenders (the commanders take care of breaking forts).
Berserk Hnefatafl rules.
Sea Battle Tafl.
Sáhkku 3x15.
Sáhkku is a racing game houndreds of years old in the Sápmi area.
The rules are explained in Norwegian
here,
and described in Wikipedia as Vuovdaguoika or Gávkevuotna sáhkku
here.
Daldøs 3x12.
Daldøs is a historical variant of Sáhkku known in Denmark and southern Norway.
Daldøs rules.
Board 12: you lost when you have 1 piece left.
Board 16: you lost when you have 2 pieces left.
Daabloe 11x9.
Daabloe is another traditional Sápmi game in the ancient board game family of draughts.
The rules are explained in Norwegian
here,
and to some extent described in Wikipedia
here.
Short summary:
Rules as in draughts.
The pieces follow the lines. They move only forward, but they capture in all directions along the lines.
A king can only be captured by a king. A prince can only be captured by a king or a prince.
You lost when
- you lost your king,
- you lost all other pieces,
- or if you cannot move anymore.
The versions Frisian Dablo 11x9 have mandatory capture.
Frisian Dablo0: Normal Dablo plus mandatory capture.
Frisian Dablo: Pieces move only diagonally forward, but capture in all directions as usual. Kings and princes can move backwards. Men on the last row are promoted to princes.
Frisian Dablo2: Pieces move only forward (3 directions), but capture in all directions (8). Kings and princes can move in all directions (8). Men on the last row are promoted to princes.
Cuhkka 5x5.
Cuhkka is a traditional Sápmi game in the ancient board game family of draughts.
The rules are explained in Norwegian
here,
and to some extent described in Wikipedia
here.
Short summary:
The pieces follow the lines in all directions. Rules as in draughts.
When you cannot move any more without losing your last piece, you are Cuhkka! (same as checkmate)
NB! If Cuhkka is played with mandatory captures, then the Saami Cuhkka board game becomes identical to Alquerque (also known as Qirkat or El-quirkat) which is considered to be the Medieval parent of all draughts games.
Hex 11x11.
Hex was invented by the Danish polymath Piet Hein in 1942. The game became known worldwide when Martin Gardner introduced it on his famous page about fun mathematics in the magazine Scientific American.
The rules are explained
here,
Short summary:
Black player must connect the two blue sides with blue dots.
White player must connect the two orange sides with orange dots.
Aleksandr Valerievich Tsyganok ("Steiger") created this ultimate guide to Historical Hnefatafl 9x9 (Saami Tablut), posted Feb. 12th 2021, history, rules and strategy!
To Copenhagen Hnefatafl, posted Feb. 25th 2021!
To Brandubh and Ard Ri Hnefatafl, posted April 17th 2021!
To Sea Battle Tafl, posted May 5th 2021!
And to Berserk Hnefatafl, posted May 31st 2021!
More videos here especially about game starts and tactics: Educational videos