How to play Hnefatafl - the Viking chess game.
Watch the Video
Read the Rules
The aim of the game
- The attacker wins by capturing the king.
- The defender wins if the king reaches a corner.
Setup
- Place the King in the centre square and his 12 guards on the marked spaces around him.
- Place the 24 warriors on the spaces marked on the 4 sides.
- Pick an attacker to play the warriors and a defender to play the king and his guard.
Gameplay
The attacker starts first, with players taking it in turns to move a single piece.
Movement rules:
- You may move a piece any number of spaces in a horizontal or vertical line.
- You cannot move diagonally.
- You cannot move a piece off the board, or through another piece.
- Pieces cannot share spaces.
- Only the king may occupy the centre and corner refuge spaces.
Capturing rules:
You may capture an opponent's piece by sandwiching it horizontally or vertically between 2 of your pieces, or between one of your pieces and a refuge square.
- A piece is only captured if it is sandwiched as a result of an opponent's move.
- If it moves in between opposing pieces itself, it is not captured.
- You may capture multiple pieces at once.
- The king may be used to capture, but not when he is on the central square.
To capture the king, you need to surround him on all 4 sides with attacking pieces. He is not safe sitting on the central square, only when he reaches a corner.
Some variations allow the king to be captured by just 3 pieces, if he is on a board edge.
Game End
- The attacker wins by capturing the king.
- The defender wins if the king reaches a corner.
- If either player cannot move, it’s a draw.
That’s Hnefatafl - capture the Viking King, or run away with him to win!
Enjoy!
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