Hnefatafl
Hnefatafl is a Viking-era board game with two very different armies. One side guards a king in the middle of the board, and the other surrounds them with twice as many attackers. The king wants to escape, and the attackers want to trap him.
This version uses Brandubh, the small 7x7 form of the tafl family, so games stay short. The code is part of the PaperGames project by Christopher Müller. Take either army against a three-level computer, or play a friend who sits beside you at the same screen.
How to play Hnefatafl
Attackers always move first. Every piece, the king included, travels as far as it likes along a row or column, the way a rook does, as long as the squares are empty. No diagonals and no jumping. The center throne and the four corners are only for the king, and other pieces cannot stop on them or pass through.
To capture a regular piece, trap it between two of yours along a row or column. The throne or a corner can act as one side of that trap. Captures only happen on the moving player's turn, so you can move a piece between two enemy pieces without losing it.
Defenders win when the king reaches a corner. Attackers win by blocking all four sides of the king, and the board edge counts as one of those sides. A player with no legal move loses.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move a piece | Tab to the board, arrows to a square, Enter on the piece and again on the target | Click your piece, then its destination | Tap your piece, then its destination |
| Pick side and level | — | Choose defenders or attackers and a level, then New game | Choose the same, then tap New game |
| Undo | — | Click Undo | Tap Undo |
| Resign | — | Click Resign | Tap Resign |
Tips
- Playing defense, move your guards out of the king's rows and columns early. The king is strongest when he has long open lines.
- Try to threaten two corners with one king move. The attackers can only block one route per turn.
- Playing attack, put pieces on the squares beside each corner. Each one shuts two escape routes at the same time.
- Defenders who stand next to a corner can be captured by a single attacker, since the corner counts as the other side.
- Push the king toward an edge. There, three attackers are enough to finish him instead of four.
If you like Hnefatafl, try these
Fox and GeeseLove unequal sides? Here a single jumping fox tries to break free while thirteen geese try to pin it in place.
FanoronaCapturing whole enemy lines by approaching or withdrawing makes this traditional game a fresh change from the surround-to-capture rule.
Questions
Which side is easier in Hnefatafl?
The sides play very differently, so try both. The defenders need speed and open lines, while the attackers need patience and careful blocking of the corners.
How good is the computer?
Easy moves at random, Medium looks one move ahead, and Hard plans a few turns further out but has to answer quickly.
Why is the computer moving as soon as the game starts?
Attackers always open. If you choose the defenders, the computer makes the first move right away.
More like this: all strategy games · 2-player games · every game A–Z
