Board and setup
An 11×11 board. The central throne and the four corners admit only the king. Twenty-four attackers start along the edges, twelve defenders and the king in the centre, and the attackers move first.
Abstract strategy / HNEFATAFL
Hnefatafl
One side hunts, the other breaks out.
Also known as: Viking Chess, Tafl
What makes Hnefatafl compelling is its asymmetry: on the same board one side is closing a net while the other is hunting for a gap.
—online now · 0 matching
Supports ranked matches, friend invites, AI opponents, spectating.
Play instantly in your browser · guests welcome
HNEFATAFLABOUT THE GAME
About the game
Hnefatafl is the best known of the Viking-age tafl games, played widely across Scandinavia and carried by settlers to Iceland, the British Isles and beyond. Archaeological and literary evidence points to boards of 13x13 or 11x11.
Its distinguishing feature is asymmetry: one side has twice the men and hunts the other side's king, while the smaller side holds the king and tries to break out.
Tafl faded after chess arrived, and the fine detail of the rules was lost with it. Several modern reconstructions are in use today; this site follows Copenhagen, one of the fuller ones.
Reference：en.wikipedia.org ↗
Rules
Hnefatafl — How to play
Youzai Board Game Club — The server implementation governs play here; tournament and other site rules may differ.
Making a move
Every piece moves like a rook in chess: any distance along a row or column, never diagonally and never over another piece. The empty throne may be passed through but not occupied.
Winning and draws
The defenders win by walking the king into any corner. The attackers win by capturing the king, or by enclosing the king and every remaining defender in an unbroken ring.
Rules on this site
Pieces are captured by sandwiching, and a corner or the throne can stand in for one of the two. The throne is always hostile to attackers but hostile to defenders only while empty. The king needs all four sides (three beside the throne) and cannot be captured on the board edge.
Helpful examples
- The two sides play different games: choosing a seat means choosing a role. If this is your first game, take the defenders — running is easier to grasp than hunting.
- When the king can run to two corners at once the attackers can only block one. That double threat is the defenders’ main winning idea.
- Moving into a gap between two enemy pieces is safe; only a sandwich closed by the opponent’s own move captures.
Complete beginner guide
From setup to the end of the game
Read these steps in order to complete your first game. This guide combines public rules with this site’s server implementation; where versions differ, this site’s ruling applies.
The two sides play different games
This is the one asymmetric game on the site. Twenty-four attackers close in from the edges hunting the king; twelve defenders and the king try to reach any of the four corners.
Board and movement
An 11x11 board. The central throne and the four corners admit only the king (the empty throne may be passed through but not occupied). Every piece moves like a rook, any distance along a row or column. The attackers move first.
Capturing
Sandwich an enemy piece between two of your own to capture it; a corner or the throne can stand in for one of them. Only a sandwich closed by your own move captures. The throne is always hostile to attackers but hostile to defenders only while empty.
Capturing the king
The king must be surrounded on all four sides — three when he stands beside the throne — and he cannot be captured on the board edge.
Shieldwall capture
A row of two or more pieces along the board edge is captured together when both ends are bracketed and every member is covered from the inside. A king inside a shieldwall is not captured.
How the game ends
The defenders win by walking the king into any corner. The attackers win by capturing the king or enclosing the king and all remaining defenders in an unbroken ring. A side with no legal move loses, and a repeated position is a loss for the defenders.
General rules reference：en.wikipedia.org ↗