Hnefatafl
Board · 1 playHnefatafl
The Viking siege game — guide the king to the edge of the board, or ring him in with your attackers.
About Hnefatafl
The great board game of the Norse world, played in the north long before chess arrived there. This is Tablut, the 9×9 member of the hnefatafl family: the king and his eight defenders hold the central cross, while sixteen attackers wait in four camps around the edges. Every piece slides like a chess rook, and you capture an enemy soldier by trapping it between two of your own. The king's side wins the moment he reaches any edge square; the attackers win by hemming him in — on all four sides if he sits on his throne. Play either side, against an opponent ranked Thrall, Warrior or Jarl. Free to play in your browser — no download, no sign-up.
How to Play
Every piece slides like a chess rook, never jumping. Only the king may stop on or cross the central throne. Trap an enemy soldier between two of your pieces to capture it. The empty throne counts as hostile. The king wins by reaching any edge square. Attackers must surround him on all 4 sides on the throne, on 3 sides beside it, or trap him between 2 anywhere else. Attackers move first. Pick your side and Thrall, Warrior or Jarl.
Tips & Strategy
As the king's side, think in lanes. The king wins the moment he reaches any edge square, so every open row or column that leads to an edge is a threat the attackers must answer. The strongest move is a double threat — a king position with two clear lines to the edge at once, so one blocking move cannot cover both. Use your defenders to open those lanes and to shield the king from being trapped, and remember the king himself can help capture enemy soldiers.
As the attackers, close the board before you hunt. The king is hard to catch in the middle — on the throne he must be surrounded on all four sides, and beside it on the other three — so your first job is to block the escape lines: build a ring that seals rows and columns towards the edges, then tighten it. Attackers move first and there are sixteen of you, so you can afford to give up a soldier or two for position. Note that a position repeated a third time, or a siege lasting 220 moves, counts as a win for the attackers, so the king's side cannot simply shuffle and wait.
On either side, captures need care. A capture only happens when you move a piece to complete the trap, so stepping between two enemy pieces is safe; you will never lose a piece by moving it into a gap. The empty throne is hostile to everyone and counts as the second jaw of a capture, so be careful with pieces next to it once the king has moved off. Every piece slides like a rook, so check the long lines before each move: a piece across the board can arrive in one move to close a trap.