TAFL GAMES

'Tafl games' are a family of ancient Germanic and Celtic board games played on a checkered or latticed board with two teams of uneven strength. Versions were played across much of Northern Europe from at least 400 CE (AD) until it was supplanted by chess during the Renaissance. Tafl games were one of the three great international board-games of the Middle Ages, the others being backgammon and chess. It has been suggested that Tafl is derived from the Roman game ''ludus latrunculorum'', but that game was played with equal pieces on both sides and so cannot be related. It is more likely that Tafl is an invention of early Scandinavia. In the early medieval period it was considered the province of gods, kings, and champions, first played by the god Odin. Early Scandinavian king-pieces often resemble the god Thor.
The term "tafl" is the modern word for the game, derived from the Old Norse word for "table, board" which was often used to refer to a game board. To distinguish it from other board-games, in medieval Scandinavia the game came to be called ''hnefatafl'', "the board-game of the fist," the fist being the central king-piece. In Anglo-Saxon England the term "tæfl" also referred to many board-games. It is not known if the Anglo-Saxons had a specific name for the game or if they just referred to it as "tæfl" in the way that modern people might refer to "cards." When chess took over as the predominant board-game, many languages borrowed the term for the tafl-game to refer to chess. In modern Icelandic, "Tafl" is the word for chess, while in German and Dutch, "Tafel" still means "board".

Contents

Tafl in different regions

Reconstruction

Controversy

See also

References

External links

Tafl in different regions

Tafl travelled everywhere the Vikings spread, to England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Brittany. The size of the board and the number of pieces varied from place to place. All games involve a distinctive 2:1 ratio of pieces, with one side having a king-piece that starts in the centre. The king attempts to escape to the corners while the other side attempts to capture him.
'Hnefatafl' is the name of the game in Scandinavia regions, frequently referred to in the Norse sagas. Vikings considered skill at hnefatafl to be a valuable attribute, and in one story one player kills the other due to a disagreement over the game. The rules of the game were never recorded, and only playing pieces and fragmentary boards are extant, so it is not known for sure how the game was played. It was played on an 11x11 board.
'Alea evangelii', which means "the board-game of the gospel," was described, with a drawing, in a tenth-century manuscript from Anglo-Saxon England. It is played on the intersections of a 19×19 board. The manuscript describes the layout of the board as a religious allegory, but it is clear that this was a game based on tafl, perhaps with an influence from chess. The set-up of the game is very complicated and the illustrator got the drawing wrong. It is described as having 72 pieces, which is larger than any other version and does not divide accurately into a 2:1 ratio. It is likely that the game was described as a religious exercise and rarely actually played. The modern day rules of Alea evangelii can be found on the Alea evangelii (game) page.
'Tawl-bwrdd' (pronounced taul-birth) was played in Wales. The term means "tafl-board." It is described in the Welsh laws as being played with 8 pieces on the king's side and 16 on the attacker's side. Robert ap Ifan documented it with a drawing in a manuscript dated 1587. His version was played on an 11×11 board with 12 pieces on the king's side and 24 on the opponent's side. The rules say:
The above tawlbwrdd should be played with a king in the centre and twelve men in the places next to him, and twenty-four men seek to capture him. These are placed, six in the centre of each side of the board and in the six central positions. And two move the men in the game, and if one [piece] belonging to the king comes between the attackers, he is dead and is thrown out of the game, and the same if one of the attackers comes between two of the king’s men in the same manner. And if the king himself comes between two of the attackers, and if you say ‘Watch your king’ before he moves to that space, and he is unable to escape, you capture him. If the other says ‘I am your liegeman’ and goes between two, there is no harm. If the king can go along the [illegible] line, that side wins the game.
'Brandub' (Modern Irish: ''Bran dubh'') is the Irish form of tafl. We know from two poems that it was played with five men against eight, and that one of the five was a "Brannán", or chief. A number of 7x7 boards have been found, the most famous being the elaborate wooden Ballinderry board. The board has holes for pegged pieces, allowing the game to be played while moving, for instance on board a ship. The name brandub means "raven-black".
'Tablut', from Lapland, is the best documented version. In 1732, Carolus Linnaeus recorded the rules and a drawing of the board in his journal while travelling through the area. He did not speak the language and described the game only from observing the players. His description, which is in Latin, is only partial. The game is played on 9×9 squares; Linnaeus observed the players playing on embroidered reindeer hide. Linnaeus referred to the light (defending) pieces as "Swedes" and the dark (attacking) pieces as "Muscovites." What seems to be the same game was still being played in the late nineteenth century, as described in P.A. Lindholm's ''Hos Lappbönder'' (1884).
'Halatafl' is a different game, dating from at least the 14th century. It is still known and played in Europe, see Fox games.
'Fidchell' (Modern Irish: ''ficheall'') was played in Ireland. The Welsh equivalent was 'gwyddbwyll' and the Breton equivalent 'gwezboell'. All terms mean "wood-sense." This popular medieval game was played with equal forces on each side and thus is not related to tafl. It may be the medieval descendent of the Roman game ''latrunculi'' or ''ludus latrunculorum''.

Reconstruction

As mentioned above, no complete, unambiguous descriptions of the rules of a Tafl game exist. However, there is enough information to make a reasonable guess as to how the game might have been played. The following is one possible reconstruction of the rules of Tablut, staying as close to the original source as possible.


★ The game is played on a 9×9 board. Initial set-up is as shown in the diagram.

★ The object of the game for the defenders is to have the king reach the edge of the board.

★ The object of the game for the attackers is to capture the king.

★ All pieces have the move of a chess rook; that is, they can move any number of spaces up, down, left or right until they encounter an obstruction.

★ All pieces, with the exception of the king, are captured by surrounding them on two opposite sides with enemy pieces. A capture can only result from the movement of an enemy piece; a piece moving between two existing enemy pieces is not captured.

★ After the king has left the centre square (the throne or castle) of the board, no pieces can be moved onto it (however, other pieces can move through it).

★ The king is captured by surrounding him on all four sides, or three sides and the throne.

Controversy

The above represent the rules of Tablut as described by Carolus Linnaeus' diary from 1732, and this is the typical way in which Hnefatafl and its derivatives are played by reconstructionists. However, Neil Peterson has researched into the historical sources and even carried out a scientific study suggesting that Linnaeus' special capture of the king is incorrect.
The description of Tawlbrydd by Robert ap Ifan (written earlier than Linnaeus' account, in 1597) states that the king could be captured by two men. Statistics from modern games played with four-man capture of the king show that white wins more often than black. However, it has not yet been demonstrated that balanced play results from rules allowing for a two-man capture of the king.

See also

★ Fox games (e.g. ''Fox and geese'')

★ Game of the Gods

★ Peg solitaire

★ Thud, a modern game inspired by Tafl games

★ Zillions of Games, which includes an implementation of Tafl games in its demo version

References

★ Bayless, Martha. (2005). "Alea, Tæfl, and Related Games: Vocabulary and Context," in ''Latin Learning and English Lore'', ed. Katherine O’Brien O’Keeffe and Andy Orchard, 2 vols., vol. II, pp. 9-27. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-802-08919-4.

★ Bell, Robert C. (1979). ''Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations'' (Revised ed.). New York: Dover Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-486-23855-5.

★ Murray, H. J. R. (1952). ''A History of Board-Games Other than Chess''. Oxford: Oxford University Press Reprints. ISBN 0-19-827401-7.

External links

★ Boardspace.net play Tablut online against human or robot opponents

★ BBC article on Hnefatafl

★ Tafl by the Viking Answer Lady

★ Tafl: An Obsession - play the game online with all variations

★ Hnefatafl - the Strategic Board Game of the Vikings - An overview of rules and variations of the game by Sten Helmfrid

★ Hnefatafl - King's Table

★ Hnefatafl - an implementation for the Zillions of Games plataform

★ BrainKing's Tablut page - Offers a good explanation of the rules and allows you to play the game.

★ Viking Siege - A computerized Tafl game (free download) with 7x7, 11x11, and 13x13 boards.

★ Early Irish Board Games - an interesting article that covers brandub, among other games.

★ Hnefatafl. The Viking Game. Explanation of variations and the rules.

★ Tablut (Hnefatafl) A program that uses the rules found in research.

★ Tablut Online. A program with a free trial version.

★ Rules of Tablut. Try playing for free using the Java applet.

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