How to play Viking Chess (Hnefatafl)

Learn the rules to the board game Viking Chess (Hnefatafl) quickly and concisely - This video has no distractions, just the rules.

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RULES:
The object of the game for the attacker is to capture the king. The object of the defender is to get their king to one of the 4 corner spaces. Layout the board and place the king on the center cream space. Place the red pieces on the red squares and the teal pieces on the teal squares. One player is the defender and controls the king and red pieces while the other is the attacker and controls all the teal pieces. The attacking player goes first then turns alternate. On your turn you may move any of your pieces any number of spaces in a horizonal or vertical straight line. Pieces may not move off the edge of the board, they may not pass through other pieces nor share a space with another piece. Pieces may not move diagonally.

If you move a piece so that is sandwiches an opponent’s piece in between two of your pieces, so that they are across from each other with the opposing piece in between, then you capture that opposing piece and remove it from the board. Pieces may travel through a sandwich without being captured, but pieces may not stop inside a sandwich. You can also capture an opponent’s piece if you sandwich it between the kings starting space and your piece, or a corner space and your piece.

A king may only be captured by completely surrounding it on all four sides. If the king is on the edge of the board, and it is the defender’s only piece on the board, then 3 pieces may be used to capture it instead. You must make a legal move on your turn, if a player cannot make a legal move, then they lose the game. If the king gets to one of the corner spaces, then the defending player wins. If the king gets trapped surrounded by opposing pieces, then the attacking player wins.

[rosiefay]

I have come across this with the additional rules: 1) no attacker may occupy the throne (king's starting space), and the attackers win if they surround the king with 3 attackers and the throne. 2) a piece may move into a position where it's sandwiched, but doesn't die as a result.

[honeyjuice]

still remember learning this game a while back and wondering how will tsg will execute it. totally exceeded my expectations

[davidtravis]

You did great job explaining the rules in 2 minutes. There are a couple of rules that need to be clarified. A piece can actually move and stop between two opposing pieces without being captured. A piece must always move into position to capture an opposing piece. Secondly, no pieces can ever occupy the four corner squares. At 2:14 you have the attackers placed on the corners. The squares that are white, on this board, are squares that only the King can occupy. The same with the center square, known as the Throne. Opposing pieces can cross over the Throne but they can never rest on that square.

[joshuadixon]

I remember having a viking book as a kid. It was like 10 pages of random viking stuff. One of the pages talked about this game but didn't say much about how to play. I copied the picture of the board onto that green planter foam and played it with marbles. With my own made up rules. I quickly got bored playing against myself though. Good memories

[rosiefay]

Thanks for featuring a tafl game. There are many variants, but all with twice as many attackers as defenders (excluding the king) and a symmetrical starting position.

[Painocus]

The rules here (and in most sets) are actually based on a mistranslation. The main differences in the original are:
1) King only needs to be surrounded to be taken when in or next to the castle (with the castle acting like the 4th piece). Otherwise he can be taken like any other piece.
2) The king wins if he is moved to any edge-square, not just the corners, but if the defender ends their turn with the king having an open path to an edge they must declare it (like "check" in chess).

[Kaepsele]

There are lots of tafl games, but in all that I know you can stop in a sandwich. Other rules that differ in the variants are:

-Edge escape: instead of reaching the corner, the king only has to reach the edge
-Weaponless King: The king cannot be used to actively capture
-Weak King: The King can be captured like any other piece, except on the starting square(throne) where it can only be captured by four attackers
-Pieces can move over the throne, but cannot stop on it
-the King cannot reenter the throne once he left it
-the starting position can differ, but it's always twice as many attackers as defenders

The most complete historical ruleset is for Tablut, which is played on a 9x9 board with edge escape and a weak king, but some rules are still ambiguous.

[thepde]

I have been playing this game for years with my daughter. Nice simplification presentation video. There are still a couple of rules that need to be included and those are mentioned in the comments by David Travis. This is a very fun and fast game with very challenging play tactics. It's still unknown when the game originated and if in fact if any of the current rulesets are correct.

[LucaNs]

Came here because of the latest Vinland Saga episode where Thorfinn mentions this game, and now I want to play it.

[cooperemmerton]

I love the attention to detail like how all the pieces are different sizes so even if they weren’t coloured you could still tell them apart so a Viking What do you need to paint them

[climbingaddiction]

I have this game from ages ago through my family and I always love playing it, I know it as the Viking game

[ThatOneGuy-wivv]

As a viking I can confirm that this is How I Play chess

[LuxisAlukard]

Nice! I like these old, even ancient games!
And I think this one is used as a base for game Thud, inspired by the book Thud! by Terry Pratchett.

[cardinalhamneggs]

I bought a Hnefatafl set at the gift shop of the British Museum.
The pieces are modeled after the famous Lewis Chessmen, which are on display in the Viking exhibit.

I also bought a 1-1 scale plastic Viking sword, but it got confiscated at Heathrow when we went to fly back to the US. Apparently it “exceeded our group’s checked baggage item limit” because I couldn’t fit it into my suitcase and had to wrap it up in plastic bags as a separate piece of luggage.
(The sarcasm is a joke btw. The Heathrow staff member responsible was actually very kind and understanding, and willingly listened as I explained the situation. Besides, there are online websites where I can buy a _real_ Viking sword.)

[BKNeifert]

That looks fun. Martian Chess looked silly, not going to lie, but this looks pretty neat. Especially the historical aspect of it.

[camotophat]

So at 1:51 you have the attacker pieces in all 4 corners. Why are they allowed to be there? And if they are allowed to be there, does this forfeit the sandwich rule for the attackers in those corners?

[tacitus]

Very clear description with helpful animations. Good job!

[thelinktothepastof]

I only just noticed the little text at the top left of the thumbnail that says how many players can play. Very nice touch!

[MrRyanroberson]

2:06 this is an illegal board state, if i understand correctly. The kind is sandwiching a teal piece between him and the center square, so that piece should have been captured! Does the king not count for captures at all?

[PacoFTW]

The gauntlet from osrs had to have some inspiration from this. The board is similar, the red and teal. That’s awesome