Hnefatafl

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Hnefatafl

With Hnefatafl one is board game for two games from a family of Scandinavian origin referred.

A literal translation of the 20th century is Königszabel , as hnefi can be translated as fist or king figure . The translation of tafl has been clarified more clearly. The Latin tabula and the tafl, which does not come from Latin but from Germanic (or the early modern word Zabel ), are translated in New High German with the word table , which in the present can also refer to a table in general and a game board in particular. Carl von Linné got to know the still widespread set of rules in Lapland under the name Tablut (the same word origin).

The so-called Tafl games are a family of Northern European board games in which a king stands in the middle of the playing field and has to defend himself with his defenders against a superior force. The king's party must move the king piece to the edge or corner of the playing field while the attacker must capture the king. Variants hot Halatafl (= fox games) , in the tradition of the Roman Twelve line game and modern backgammon standing Kvatrutafl , and the closely related Hnefatafl Fidchell whose rules are not known.

Historical structure and goal

Tablut board

Hnefatafl is played on a game board (Zabel) with 13 × 13 or 11 × 11 fields, tablut on 9 × 9 fields. The playing field can be made of wood or, for games on the go, of soft leather. One player has twelve white pieces (eight in the tablet) and a king, the other has 24 black pieces (16 in the tablet), which are arranged as shown in the illustration opposite. The aim of the game is to take the king prisoner or to protect the king from captivity by the opponent and to bring him to safety over the edge fields. A party has lost even if it can no longer draw.

The original form of the game represents a hunting situation in which the side with fewer pieces enjoys greater freedom and the right to capture the opponent's stones and take them off the board. The opposing figures are restricted in their movement possibilities, but stronger in their number. In the tablut game, one of the players has 8 blonde Swedish soldiers and their king, the largest piece on the board, while the opponent plays with 16 dark Russians. The field in the center is clearly marked as a Konakis or Throne. Only the Swedish king is allowed to occupy the Konakis .

General rules

After the basic setup, each piece moves vertically or horizontally (but not diagonally) over any number of free spaces (like the rook in chess). A piece is captured if it is enclosed by opposing pieces on two opposite sides. In this way, several figures can be caught at once. However, a figure can move between two opposing figures with impunity without being caught.

The king alone may enter the middle field ( Konakis or throne ). He is trapped as soon as he is surrounded by four opponents or by three opponents plus the Konakis . If he manages to reach any field on the edge of the field or a corner field, depending on the rules, he has won.

balance

The Tafl games are asymmetrical games, as both players pursue different goals and have different figures, number of figures and starting positions.

The various Tafl games and rules differ greatly in their balance. So in some games it is possible that black or white has a big advantage. Other games and variants, on the other hand, have proven to be more balanced.

The balance also depends on the gaming experience of each player. Beginners often find it easier to play the king's side.

For these reasons it is common to play two games with alternating sides.

Fetlar Hnefatafl

This version of the game is named after the island of Fetlar , where "The Fetlar World Quickplay Hnefatafl Championship" takes place, and is recognized as being relatively even.

Lineup

  • Fetlar Hnefatafl is played on an 11 × 11 field.
  • White receives 12 normal pieces and a king, which are placed in the middle of the playing field.
  • Black receives 24 pieces, each with 6 pieces on the edges of the playing field.

  • Basic setup (black here white / white here red)

The goal

  • White wins if the king enters one of the four corner squares.
  • Black wins by capturing the king.

Game start

  • Black can move first.

Pull

  • All pieces can be moved vertically or horizontally in any number of free spaces in one direction (like the rook in chess).
  • Throne and corner spaces may only be entered by the king. However, all figures can move over an empty throne.

Arrest

  • A figure is captured if it is actively surrounded by opposing figures on two opposite sides. A captured figure is immediately removed from the board.
  • However, a figure can move between two opposing figures with impunity without being caught.
  • The king is captured as soon as he is surrounded by four opponents. If he's right next to the throne, he only needs to be surrounded by three enemies. The king cannot be captured on an edge square.
  • If the king is protected by another stone, it is possible to capture both of them if both the king and the other white stone are completely surrounded. However, this rule is not recognized everywhere.
  • A figure can also be captured if it is actively enclosed by one of the four corner spaces and an opposing figure or the empty throne and a generic figure on the opposite side.
  • It is also possible to capture several opposing pieces at once if your own and opposing pieces are positioned alternately in a row. The last stone of your own completes the row.

  • Simple hitting of opposing stones

  • Move between two standing opponents

  • Simply beating the king

  • Beat the king on the throne

  • Beat the king and a protective stone (game variation)

  • Hit several stones at the same time

draw

The game is a tie:

  • if both players agree on a tie,
  • when a player no longer has a chance to move,
  • with three repetitions.

strategy

White

White should try to gain influence on one or more corners as quickly as possible. This can mean either moving your own pieces into the squares near the corner to prevent Black from blocking the corner or to restrict Black's movement possibilities. It can also make sense to free the king as quickly as possible to have him ready and to increase the pressure. Since it often happens with an early attack by the king that he is trapped in one or between two corners, this is not necessarily a good thing, but it can also lead to a quick victory or significantly weaken the opponent. A common beginner's mistake is to focus too much on capturing enemy characters and protecting your own. In doing so, sacrificing or not being captured can bring important positional advantages and be more useful to the king in his escape.

black

Black should primarily try to make the corners of the playing field inaccessible to White. At least three figures per corner are required for this. Many players therefore recommend not attacking the king at the beginning, but only restricting his movement until the corners are secured. It can be important to block the third row of squares from the edge, as this represents a free line at the start of the game, on which White can otherwise move freely and whose edge squares represent important key points for an efficient blockade of the corner. A common beginner's mistake is to concentrate too much on capturing opposing pieces instead of securing the corners. As soon as these are secured, Black can encircle the opposing pieces by deliberately advancing in a closed row.

Copenhagen Hnefatafl

A further developed variant used by the World Tafl Federation is the Copenhagen Hnefatafl. Draw positions are avoided. Compared to the Fetlar Hnefatafl, the following rules apply:

  • Shieldwall capture: A chain of stones standing on the edge of the field can be captured by first enclosing it from the other side and then at both ends. The corners can be used again. If the king is in such a beaten chain, he is the only one unharmed.
  • Edge continues: If the king is on the edge of the field and still moves, but can no longer be captured, White wins.
  • Encirclement: If all white pieces are completely surrounded by blacks (white pieces can no longer reach the edge of the field), black wins.
  • Repetitions of positions are prohibited. If White repeats the position of his stones three times without capturing a stone, Black wins.

history

Representation of board-playing people on the ockelbo stone

Hnefatafl was widespread from Ireland to the Ukraine in the Viking Age , around the 10th century . It is likely that Hnefatafl was only known in the Norman culture. Archaeological finds are mainly in the Baltic Sea region, on the British Isles (found on Orkney on the Brough of Deerness in 2011) and on Iceland. A wooden board from the 10th century was found in Ballinderry, County Westmeath, Ireland . The number of fields is always odd and is between 7 × 7 in Ballinderry and 15 × 15 in the boards of Gokstad (Norway) and Jórvík (England).

The rules of a variant of this family of games, namely the Tablut , were written down in 1732 by Carl von Linné on his travels through Lapland . The last known mention of the tablute that it is still played comes from the year 1884. Other variants such as tawl-brrd and alea evangelii are only described in a few documents and therefore cannot be adequately reconstructed. Tablut probably emerged from the Hnefatafl , which was played in the Viking Age (850-1050) on 18 × 18 fields with 24 against 48 soldiers . The first traces of Hnefataflspiel come from Denmark in the 4th century. From there it spread with the Vikings to England and with the Varangians to Russia and the Ukraine.

Only the rules of the Tablut game have been handed down historically through the continuity in Lapland. The rules of the variants mentioned can at best be developed. The Abstract Games Magazine has investigated whether the tablut game with the traditional rules is unfair because the king's party almost always wins. The testers were able to refute this assumption. The evaluation of games played on the Internet shows that Black is only difficult to play for beginners. As the game experience increases, the results for both parties are balanced.

Still, there are attempts to change the rules. Typical changes are, for example, that the king has to flee over the corners or that it is enough to move the king around from two sides to take him prisoner. The changed rules go back to an attempt at reconstruction in the 1960s at Stockholm University .

Basic line-up of various Tafl games

  • Hnefatafl

  • Alea Evangelii

  • Tawlbwrdd

  • Brandubh

  • Ard Ri

  • Tablut

Hnefatafl in the film

  • The Last Kingdom : In season 2, episode 4, King Alfred plays with his daughter Hnefatafl.
  • Vikings: In season 4, episode 4, King Harald plays "Fairhair" with Ragnar Lothbrok's sons Ubbe and Hvitserk Hnefatafl.

Web links

Commons : Tafl  - collection of images, videos and audio files

For Hnefatafl and related games in general:

For Tablut:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b http://www.larp-mit.de/konigszabel-tabluthnefatafl-spielregel/
  2. ↑ Fetlar Hnefatafl World Championchip: http://www.fetlar.org/assets/files/hnefatafl/rules2013visual.pdf
  3. ↑ http://aagenielsen.dk/copenhagen_rules.html
  4. ↑ Michael Sandeman in Abstract Games Magazine , Issue 16, Winter 2003. Visible online ( memento of the original from August 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.abstractgamesmagazine.com