Tablut (Hnefatafl) - the game of the Viking sagas.

Implemented April 2006 by Mats Winther

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In Tablut (Hnefatafl) the Black side is laying siege to the kingdom of the White side. The object for the White side is to move his King ("Hnefi") to one of the corner squares, in which case he has successfully escaped. The object for the Black side is to capture the White King.

All pieces move like a Rook in chess, that is, any number of squares horizontally or vertically. No pieces, except the King, may land on the corner squares or the centre square. The centre square is the King's throne or "Konakis".

Tablut employs orthogonal interception-capture. When an enemy piece is surrounded on two opposite sides, the piece is captured. The corner and centre squares also act like friendly pieces, so if an enemy piece is sandwiched between a friendly piece and these special squares, this also results in capture. Capture is not mandatory.

The same capture rules applies also to the King, except when it is positioned on the centre square, when it must be surrounded on all four sides. If the King is positioned on any of the four squares adjacent to the centre, it must be surrounded on three sides, plus the centre square, which then functions as a capture-square.

Tablut boards and pieces are often found in Viking graves. Pieces are typically made of bone, glass, or amber. The game had a rich history in Viking tales. In one such story King Knut and Jarl Ulf were playing, and Knut made mistake allowing Ulf to capture a piece. Knut requested that he be allowed to take back his move. Ulf refused, toppling the board, and an argument ensued that ended when Ulf was killed.

The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnĉus, the inventor of the system for classifying plants and animals we still use today, wrote about this game in his diary in 1732. He discovered it during his travels in Lapland, where the game had survived and was still played among the Lapps. The side with the King represented the Swedes, while the other side respresented Moscovites.

Watch out whenever a piece is positioned orthogonally adjacent to an opponent's, as it's liable to get captured. Exchanging pieces early in the game would generally benefit White rather than Black, because White needs open space to escape with his King. Black should try to keep the position crowded. Both sides should look out for King moves that allow the King two different paths to the rim, since it will be impossible to block both directions at the same time.

Two variants have been implemented: Tablut (9x9) and Brandubh (7x7). Tablut seems to be a well-balanced game. It's a tough nut to crack, although White should probably win in the end. In Brandubh White can sometimes achieve a rapid win, but Black's chances seems good.

Note that the implementations of Tablut and Brandubh on the Zillions CD ("Tafl") are faulty. The wrong rules have been implemented and it doesn't work. This implementation follows the rules researched by the Historical Museum, Stockholm, and it shows what a sophisticated game this is. It was immensely popular during the Viking era. It is clearly the king of hunt-games.

To play you must have installed "Zillions of Games". Either double-click on Tablut.zrf or
1. Run "Zillions of Games"
2. Choose "Open Game Rules..." from the File menu
3. Select "Tablut.zrf" in the Open dialog and click "Open"
Tablut.zrf is a rules file used by the Windows program "Zillions of Games". Zillions of Games allows you to play any number of games against the computer or over the Internet. Zillions of Games can be purchased online. For more information please visit the Zillions of Games website www.zillions-of-games.com