HNEFATAFL

(NEF-AH-TAH-FUL)

A Viking strategy game of siege and escape, played across Scandinavia and the British Isles from around 400 AD. It dominated Norse culture for centuries until chess arrived around 1000 AD and displaced it into obscurity. The Copenhagen rules, formulated in 2012, are a modern reconstruction designed to balance the asymmetric forces.

Made by Ruaridh Murdoch

Hnefatafl

Hnefatafl

HNEFATAFL

RULEBOOK

It is a game of siege and escape. Two players face off asymmetrically, one commanding the attackers, one defending the king.

SETUP

The game is played on an 11×11 board. The defender controls 12 warriors and a king, starting at the centre. The attacker controls 24 warriors, starting on the edges in a cross formation.

The attacker always moves first.

MOVEMENT

All pieces move any number of empty squares in a straight line, horizontally or vertically, like a rook in chess. No piece may jump over another.

RESTRICTED SQUARES

Five squares are restricted, the four corners and the centre throne. Only the king may land on these squares. Any piece may pass through the throne if it is empty.

CAPTURE

A piece is captured by sandwiching it between two enemy pieces on opposite sides, horizontally or vertically. Moving into a sandwich does not get you captured, the trap must be closed by the attacker's move.

The corners and throne count as hostile squares and can act as one side of a sandwich.

The throne is always hostile to attackers. It is only hostile to defenders when empty.

CAPTURING THE KING

The king is captured when surrounded on all four sides by attackers or hostile squares. If the king is adjacent to the throne, the throne counts as one side, so only three attackers are needed.

The king cannot be captured on the board edge.

SHIELDWALL CAPTURE

A row of two or more pieces along the board edge can be captured together by bracketing the entire group at both ends, as long as every member of the group has an enemy piece directly in front of them facing inward. A corner square can act as one of the bracketing pieces.

If the king is part of a shieldwall, the other pieces are captured but the king is not.

WINNING

Defenders win if:

  • The king reaches any corner square
  • The king reaches the board edge, is protected on all sides, and has room to move (Exit Fort)

Attackers win if:

  • The king is captured
  • All white pieces including the king are completely surrounded with no escape (Encirclement)
  • White causes the same board position to occur three times, white loses by repetition

Note that the defenders do not win by simply capturing all attacking pieces.

KEYBOARD CONTROLS

The game is fully playable without a mouse.

  • Tab - move focus to the next interactive element
  • Arrow keys - navigate between cells on the board
  • Enter / Space - select a piece or confirm a move
  • Escape - cancel the confirmation dialogue