Hnefatafl

Platforms: Tabletop
Reviewed on: Tabletop
Reviewer: Trever Bierschbach
Developer: [Traditional]
Publisher: [Traditional]
Released: [Traditional]
Review Published: 2020-02-16
Review Updated: 2020-03-29

Recommended

+ Fast and easy to learn
+ Challenging to master
+ An artistic conversation piece

- Can be imbalanced for one side
- Limited to two players, so not for game night

Hnefatafl, otherwise known as Viking chess, is one of the oldest board games still being played today. As explained to me by Brian Marshall of Where the Gods Live - , the game's rules were only recently standardized, as each village and community once had their own rules for playing the game. I have had my eye on this for several years, as a lover of history and games, and I finally took the time to learn it at GenCon at Brian's booth. He was decked out in anachronistic Viking garb, and we were surrounded by the beautiful hand-crafted drinking horns he makes, learning a game so old no one knows who invented it. It took a couple minutes to learn the rules, and I knew within the first couple of moves that I wanted this game. My wife could tell too, she was handing over the cash before we even finished the first round.</p>

Hnefatafl was created in Scandanavia sometime before the 8th century, and believed to be based on the Roman game Ludus Latrunculorum. It declined in popularity when Chess became the fashionable game to play. Unlike its successor, Hnefatafl is not about two sides, with even resources, fighting for dominance of the checkered battlefield. This game is about overcoming odds stacked against you on an unequal playing field. The attackers have a clear disadvantage, and must think clearly about how best to assault, and capture the King.

The rules are simple, but the strategy is anything but. Every piece moves like a rook in chess. Capturing foot soldiers, or pawns, is a matter of pinning them between two opponent pieces. Capturing the king requires you to pin him on all four sides, or pin him against the edge of the board. The defenders win if the King escapes to a corner block, or is backed against the side, with a shield wall of defenders all around. The attacker has more pieces, but starts out at a perceived disadvantage. The one advantage they do have is forcing the defender to focus on all four sides of the board. This can also be a hindrance because many players, especially those new to the game, will focus on one or two sides, rather than using all of their attacking pieces. Because of the imbalance between the two sides, most players will commit to at least two games so each player has a chance to win as either side.

The game is easy to learn, challenging to master, and fun to play. This particular set is also beautiful. Brian Marshall put together a rustic board with pieces made of horn. The King is made from the last couple of inches of the horn's tip, while the pawns are made of slivers of the horn about half an inch thick, in white and black. Each set is hand-made and runs about $50.00. There's a set with a more detailed board made of individual cut and glued pieces of wood that was about $75.00. Not only is this a great addition to your game library, but a lovely piece of art that will look great displayed like a good chess set.