Hnefatfl or King's Table

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This 1,500 year-old forerunner of chess was popular in the Viking homelands as early as AD 400, and came to be played from Ireland to the Ukraine. This tactical game consists of two sides of unequal strength, one trying to attack, the other trying to escape.

How to play Hnefatafl

The game is simple but subtle. There are only two types of pieces: warriers (represented by a Viking cross) and one king (represented by a black flag). All pieces have the same movement ability. To move a piece in the Applet, click once on that piece to highlight it. Then click again on the square to which you wish to move the piece. The piece will reposition itself where you clicked last (provided the move is a legal one).

  1. At the start of the game, the king stands in the center of the board on the squared colored:

    That square is one of the five king's squares, all marked with the color given above. The king's warriors (kingsmen)

    (12 in all)
    are placed around him on the squares marked
    The usurper's forces

    (24 in all)
    are grouped round the edge of the board on the squares marked

  1. All pieces move the same way. It is the castle or rook's move in chess, that is, a piece can move along a row of squares vertically or horizontally but not diagonally. At each turn a piece can move as many spaces as are free but cannot jump over another piece.

  2. No piece other than the king can occupy one of the king's squares though they may pass overthe central square.

  3. Pieces capture each other by sandwiching. This occurs when one side manages to place one piece on either side of an opponent's piece.

    One of the king's warriors can move in any of the directions show by the the arrows on the diagram above, in order to capture and remove one of the usurper's warriors. However, if the usurper piece had itself moved into the gap between two king's warriors, it would not be taken. The king may take part in moves to caputre opponents in the same way as all other pieces but cannot himself be captured in this way.

  4. It is also possible for a kingsman to capture warriors blocking the corner squares (see right). This usurper warrior can now be taken by sandwiching the usurper warrior between the kingsman and the corner king's square. The usurper warrior can then be taken.

  5. The objects of the game are for the usurper to capture the king, in which case the usurper wins, or for the king to escape to one of the king's squares in the four corners of the board, in which case the king wins.

  6. The king is captured by boxing in on all four sides. He can also be captured by being boxed in by usurper warriors on three sides and by his own central square on the fourth side.

  7. The usurper warriors make the first move. Remember it is a game of attack and defence. Either side can play an aggressive or defensive game, or can suddenly switch tactics. The problems for each side are different so try playing alternate games on different sides and see who wins most games.

Ways to capture a warrior

Kingsman using king's space to capture an enemy

Captured king

Start the Applet

The rules and directions given in this page from directly from a version of Hnefatafl released by History Craft Ltd, Cirencester, England