Complete authentic hnefatafl game with wooden board and glass pieces, includes:
- 25 glass gaming pieces (16 attackers and 8 defenders.
- Average piece height 24mm (1 inch), with the king much bigger.
- 25cm (10 inches) solid wood square board.
Full game rules.
Also known as 'King's Table', or 'The Viking Game', hnefatafl was one of the most common games played by the Vikings. The hnefatafl game consists of a playing surface that has been divided into squares, upon which are placed opposing sets of gaming pieces.
The object of hnefatafl is for the defending king (white) to escape from the encircling attacking pieces (dark). If the king reaches one of the corner squares then the defenders win, but if all possible escape routes are blocked then the attacker wins.
Players take it in turns moving any one of their hnefatafl pieces either horizontally or vertically around the board. Pieces are taken (removed from play) by having one of your pieces on either side of an opponent's piece, thus eliminating it. The king can only be taken by having attacking pieces to all four sides. The corner squares count as opponent's pieces for the purpose of taking pieces, thus a piece that is next to a corner square needs only to have an opponent's piece placed next to it (opposite the corner square) to be taken.