Question 1

What is Hnefatafl?

Accepted Answer

Hnefatafl is an ancient Viking board game played on an 11×11 grid. One player commands 24 attackers who try to capture the king; the other controls 12 defenders plus the king who must escape to a corner square. All pieces move like chess rooks. It was played across Scandinavia and Britain before chess arrived in the 12th century.

Question 2

What are the different Tafl variants?

Accepted Answer

The main historical variants are: Brandubh (7×7, Irish, 8 attackers vs 4 defenders), Ard Rí (7×7, Scottish, 16 vs 8), Tablut (9×9, Sami, 16 vs 8, king escapes to edge), Tawlbwrdd (11×11, Welsh, 24 vs 8), Hnefatafl (11×11, Viking, 24 vs 12), and Alea Evangelii (19×19, Anglo-Saxon, 48 vs 24). Copenhagen Hnefatafl is a modern (2012) tournament variant on the 11×11 board adding shieldwall captures and encirclement rules.

Question 3

How do you capture pieces in Tafl games?

Accepted Answer

All Tafl games use custodian capture: a piece is taken when sandwiched between two enemy pieces on opposite sides orthogonally. You can safely move into a sandwich — the piece is only captured when the enemy completes it. The throne and corner squares count as hostile squares for capture purposes. The king requires all four sides to be covered simultaneously.

Question 4

What are the Copenhagen Hnefatafl rules?

Accepted Answer

Copenhagen Hnefatafl (2012) uses the standard 11×11 Hnefatafl setup with three extra rules: shieldwall capture (a row of pieces along the board edge can be taken all at once by bracketing both ends), encirclement (attackers win if they completely surround all defenders even without capturing the king), and exit fort (defenders win if the king reaches the edge with an unbreakable position).

Question 5

What is Alea Evangelii?

Accepted Answer

Alea Evangelii (Game of the Gospels) is the largest Tafl variant, recorded in an Anglo-Saxon manuscript around 1140 AD. It is played on a 19×19 board with 73 pieces: 48 attackers versus 24 defenders and a king. The king wins by reaching one of the four 2×2 corner zones. The starting layout is based on the Murray reconstruction from the Corpus Christi manuscript.

Question 6

What is Brandubh?

Accepted Answer

Brandubh is the Irish variant of Tafl, played on a small 7×7 board with just 13 pieces: 8 attackers versus 4 defenders and a king. It is one of the oldest known Tafl games. The king must escape to a corner square. The compact board makes games fast and tactical.

Question 7

Who goes first in Tafl games?

Accepted Answer

In all Tafl variants, the attackers move first. The king starts on the central throne square and cannot be moved until the attackers have had their first turn.

Question 8

How is the king captured in Tafl?

Accepted Answer

The king is captured by surrounding it on all four orthogonal sides simultaneously with attackers or hostile squares (throne and corners). The king cannot be captured against the board edge alone — all four cardinal directions must be covered. This is known as the strong king rule.

Tafl Games — Ancient Norse & Celtic Strategy