Hnefatafl, a surprisingly rich board game with Viking origins

All credit should go to the Fetlar Hnefatafl Panel for standardizing and balancing the rules.

First of all, let’s figure out how to pronounce this. “neff-a-tafl”. Not as tricky as you thought, right? Hopefully I can convince you the gameplay isn’t tricky either.

Hnefatafl, sometimes referred to as Tafl, is a unique mix of hunt games like Fox and Hounds, and war games like Chess. Hunt games have one player whose goal is to get their piece from one spot to another, while the other player tries to stop them. Because the prey has only one piece, these games are often difficult to balance, are simplistic, and lead to sharp gameplay. War games are fought between players with equal armies, naturally leading to more compelling and balanced gameplay. By giving the prey an army as in Tafl, a new class of board games emerges unlike any mainstream game played today.

Intrigued? I sure was. Now let’s explain the gameplay. This article is meant to be as concise as possible, so please let us know if you feel any sections are confusing or unnecessary.