Hnefatafl - Viking Board Game | Hnefatafl Rules | "Viking Chess"
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- Опубліковано 12 кві 2019
- Hnefatafl was the board game of the Vikings and in this video I explain the rules the way I was taught them. This epic Viking game was popular in many areas and countries long into the medieval age.
We don't know exactly this game was played. The rules probably varied up through the centuries and depended on the geographical area. This is a modern interpretation.
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My daughter and I play this game, couldn't find it to buy in Australia and it's very expensive to buy on eBay (at least from what I could find) so we made our own, the pieces from polymer clay and the board I made from animal skin so we could wrap it all up together like a pouch, great strategy game
On etsy from time to time some are available for moderate price. Don't look for the over featured ones. ;)
That is awesome!
oh can you tell me a little bit about strategie? mostly for the attackers ?
have you noticed a win rate ? attackers more win or def or is it ballanced ?
love the game! just wish i got better at it
The book "Reconstructing Hnefatafl, by Damian Walker", is a good place to start researching this game :)
I've spent many fall and winter evenings drinking, eating smoked eel or fish, and playing this game. I'd love to make a board where the king is Grendel and his creatures and the attackers are Beowulf. I even have an app on my phone to play.
That would be awesome!
As an American i would prefer my king to be Beowulf. Just because he is a hero to Americans. We have always been taught that Grendel and his mother were evil. Just a comment from Texas. Great looking game. I like it. I'm going to make one and learn the rules. Thanks again for a great video.
Looks very peaceful. Serenity is hard to find these days... Keep well brother!
How lovely to see a video with both you and Mads! I've been playing quite a lot of hnefatafl lately and I hope we can play a game some time. Cheers
I’d never heard of this game until you had mentioned it in one of your older videos. Now I’m going to build one of these game boards and pieces and hopefully convince my family to play! Excellent video. Thanks for posting up.
Thank you! I am sure you will enjoy it!
This video reminds me of my medieval re-enactment days. Miss those days. Great vid. Thank you.
I very much loved watching you play this with 'Athelstan'.
I must make one of these. Great way to relax and work the mind eh.
I agree on both!
..Very fun to watch and listen to (which I did twice); board games like these are great for trying times. Thanks, Bjorn!
I always wanted to know about this game. Thank you
Never heard of it before. Thanks for sharing, Bjorn!
You're welcome, Samuel.
I have been playin the "standard" Scandinavian version since the early 80s. What I truly love about this simple game is the more you play, the more complicated it becomes. My favorite is the hundred piece version that represents a sea battle
That sounds extremely challenging!
It was, very fast and furious initially (much exchanging of extra pieces) but capture or containment on the larger board is very difficult. Suddenly long game strategy becomes critical.
Thank you very much for this very informative video! Just bought this game at the Jelling Mounds Viking site in Denmark. Can't wait to find someone to play it with😁👍
Sorry if this has been said already, but my understanding about playing with fewer pieces is that it’s usually on a smaller board, the pieces only move one square at a time, and the king can’t be used to capture.
Ah, that makes sense. I will have to look into the other tafl games more closely.
Those last turns made me chuckle. Looks like fun.
I love this game. I bought the set after your first video with it and have since taught a bunch of Boy Scouts how to play.
That is awesome. Glad to have been of some influence!
Awesome, I was just looking at a video of this game a couple of days ago!
I was looking at this yesterday! That's awesome!
👍👍🧔A short time to learn and a life time to master , cheers Bjorn👍👍
I love the look of this game Bjorn, it's like chess but I think better. Now I know what next to make while I'm around the campfire. Might I also say that this video is well edited and put together, well done! I can't wait till the next :)
Thanks, Matty! It took a while to make this video, quite a few hours more than usual. Fun fact: Some of the shots from above was filmed by placing the camera on the edge of a cliff above us and zooming in.
I've been playing the game for a little bit now with friends as well, and there's a house rule we've usually all come to agree on: if you willingly move a soldier into a capturable area, he isn't captured, but if he doesn't move after one turn, he is 😁. Can't stay surrounded by enemy soldiers willy nilly after all 😆
Yay,Viking stuff! :) Great video, Bjorn Skal!!
More is coming!
In one of your earlier videos about this game was the first video I watched from you and I was very intrested and watched more of your videos I than subscribed I love your videos and I encourage you to make more
Thanks, Konner! I am very grateful to have you as a subscriber and viewer!
Another fun video thank you .
Oddly I found this game at a local large bookstore. Having read about it, I quicly purchased it and ran home to force my children to play the game with me. The directions seemed clear enough but yes...it is NOT easy to master. Thank you for this very informative video on the actual game play.
Very interesting! To win you have to get your king to safety! Very interesting, very telling 😂😂😊 I like how you said the brave soldier doesn't get taken. So interesting!
I like your colorful board. Looks cool
that board game lent me company whilst in Norway. =) What a joy to see it again. ..
Grimfrost makes 2 variations of the game, one is hand carved with bone peices, the other is painted stones in a leather pouch that when fully opened is the game board, I have both versions. The pouch and their set of bone dice are great fun at bars!
Looks like fun and easy to make my own board-thanks for the video !
It should be quite straightforward, I'd say!
Personally i prefer the 7x7 square board 12 black soldiers, 8 white soldiers and one white king. i allways makes 7x7 squareboard (the travel-nefataflboard found in a ship burial was a 7x7 board.) when i make my boardgamecompaliations. other games, chess/checkers, mils, alquerque, the royal game of ur, revspil/solitaire, Nimbi, seneth, roman rota, Ludus latrunculi, and a few more.
Thanks for sharing, I never heard of it before.
You're welcome!
Love this.
Played it during show on whitby abbey vike festival in England, great game
Love this game!
Great video bud.
It was a pleasure to play you a tafl 😎
And you won, my friend!
Always wanted to know how to play that game.. thanks for sharing. If I have time this summer I will make it for my camp. Cheers!
You could even carve it into your table at Spirit Forest.
@@BjornAndreasBull-Hansen That is a good idea!! If the table is still standing (cause of all the snow we are getting).. I think I will do that.. Would be a fun project.. and of course video it.
i wish you success with your novel !!
Wow that is different but cool I will have to get me one of those thanks for sharing
Awesome
Looks like some fun once you mastered the strategy
Reminded me of my Poppa's days ! He is my grandfather ! Norwegian is the way we played it ! It was fun !. It's equal !.
Jaw harp was a nice touch 👌
i have this game love it
Yes thanke you Bjørn 😃
Hey Bjorn, I was wondering about the bushcraft get together you were thinking about a while ago.
Do you know what time of year it would be? And would it be a few hours or a few days?
I'm just curious because it seems awesome.
Thanks.
It will be next year here in Norway, probably during summer and I think for a weekend.
@@BjornAndreasBull-Hansen Awesome. Thank you.
Ah! Nice!
Thanks for showing this. I have been curious for a while. Do the pieces only move one square at a time, or to they move multiple squares?
All pieces can move as many squares that aren't blocked in straight lines. They can't jump over any pieces though.
That was anew one on me ...very interesting
I'm a regular Chess player. I like this game it's more simple than Chess. Chess can get really complicated to the point of it not being fun.
Awesome video, I have always wondered about this game, how it was played. That's a very pretty place yall are at there. And what is that instrument (your son?) what is that instrument he is playing? It sounds cool. Thanks for the video!
Haha, no, he's not my son. I'm not that old, hahaha. It's called a Jew's harp, I believe. Not a good name, it's a Norse instrument.
Thanks for replying! I have heard that instrument played before but never seen one in action, it sounds awesome. Very odd name for it though. Also sorry I was mistaken thinking that lol, I just thought you two resembled slightly, but now I see that your friend is older than I first assumed. Have a great day, and thank for the knowledge! @@BjornAndreasBull-Hansen
Properly called a "jaw harp" now
The fact you hear it from both sides is proof that they are both actually even haha. This was made back in the days of battle, battle was not even. The king only needs to escape, the attackers have to capture him, the defenders have an easier objective. But the attackers hold the advantage of numbers. There are differences in their advantages and disadvantages, but in the end it can be considered even because of it lol.
i super want to play that game.....
I’m 60% Scandinavian 😀 learning this is so wonderful
Where can I buy the exact board of this video? It's wonderful and seems to made of marble
Wow, I'm going to build this game. I'll introduce it to people that come and visit me at my camp. I live in LA Lower Alabama USA. I tell people about the Vikings of Norway, that speak softly and Carry a big stick. Can't get over how I look at the hand made thing's like a little kid. (Thank you) TaKK SKal du ha .
Hello.
A question.
The king can be pinned against his castle wall in the middle of the board and captured. Why can he not return to that square and safety?
Thank you for the video.
Regards.
Keith
Love the mouthharp and the other angle of the camera!
Glad you noticed (the other angle)!
Before the last king’s move, why he didnt block the king in the corner ?
This game looks like a lot of fun. What instrument was your friend playing at the end of the video?
Bjorn , I have got to make myself one of these games .
Awesome!
9:30 why didn't he block the king?
So how do I properly start learning and getting into norse paganism? I've always loved the norse and their mythology, their moral and motivational teachings, and especially their connections with nature and spirituality, however the books I've read (mainly the asatru) ones are to, crazy about worshipping and how to perform rituals and maybe more magic and fringe than what I'm really looking for, I'm looking for a way to start learning and getting into it on a little more deeper and personal level, any ideas where to start?
Jackson Crawford on UA-cam is an expert in old Norse and Norse mythology, I'd start there. He recommends books written by others or translated by him from old Norse or old English texts dating back to the 800-1200's AD. The man is a treasure trove of information
The Irish version is called Fidchell.
I only got one win at this game. I try to be careful and see how I can trap the King, but I still lose. But I love this game. It's very similar to GO and Chess. Thanks to the Vikings for creating it 😉
It is very hard. I am not good at all in this game.
After planting and harvest season is over I think about making one of these for a game night
As much as the game, I'd love to know about the knife in the bowl in front of you. I've been making that style of handle since the mid-90's. I thought it was just me being lazy. Now, I'm wondering if I saw it somewhere and copied it, or if it was my Norse genes coming out in my work.
Sir,bWhat variant are you playing??
I will be making one, how many centimeters square is your board? It looks like a good size to use. Thanks again for sharing.
I have boards from 20 to 30 cm, I think.
@@BjornAndreasBull-Hansen Thank you.
Now that it’s warming up I need to head out into the garage and make one of these bad boys!
Yes, I agree on that!
Bjorn Andreas Bull-Hansen Thanks for the reply! Really enjoy your videos. Cheers, Brother!
Looks to be an interesting game, i like chess, so i'm guessing that i would like this game.
I love hnefatafl but it’s so underrated
This game is underrated, because, on the one hand it is not very balanced, but especially because it is far from being as complex as chess.
Can you capture more then one piece at a time? W B B W would both black pieces be captured?
Good. I had skipped this one. My bad. Remedied that now
i have made this game my self some time ago, and when i play this 90% of times white winnes, only when black covers all excites (fast) it has a chance. thanks to this all games are so simular in my eyes now.
maby a vid about strategie? for both sides ofcourse.
also we tried the beserker variant. for me it didnt brought anything noteworthie to the game? what you think about it?
also one time i played it with some one. and he sayd that when the king hits the side he wins. whell that made the game wors! black has no chance to win that way.
its an turkish instrument that in the intro music its woodbender - ağız kopuzu
Your theme song should be by "The Worrier" Patty Smyth.
Thank you, as a board gamer I find these older traditional games very interesting. Does anyone know of a book or article about the history of games such as chess, Viking Chess,checkers and others and their common history.
In that vein I notice the pack basket, is that a distant relative of the traditional Maine pack baskets?
Hilltown Graymers I just saw a comment recommending a book: “Reconstructing Hnefatafl, by Damian Walker”.
I personally don’t know anything about the book but someone suggested it.
@@thinkingmachine354 thanks
I don't quite get it, if the king gets surrouded by a third attacker, what's to stop him simply moving out of danger. Why would the king just stay motionless and slowly get surrounded. What am I missing?
So when are you going to raid Greenland?
When there is a "brave" soldier, how would the opponent capture or kill the soldier, would it need to be surrounded by all 4 sides or by just 3?
If you move away then back trapping him between 2 of your pieces you can take him. It's just that you can't move into a space and be taken by your own action.
What is the mouth playing instrument called? Anyone who can share?
Some people call it a jaw harp.
@@BjornAndreasBull-Hansen Tusen tack, Bjørn
When I ply I find the attacker has the advantage
But then again I didn't have a clear idea of the rules
Thanks for the vid
I have seen people say that on utube; if so why not reduce the number of attackers? i am interested to know what layer have to say, thank you.
I thought I was hearing things when I heard a Juice Harp at the beginning . Then I see a guy playing one at the end , I didn't know they had a Scandinavian origin .
Who knows where they were first played. At least, we know the Norse played them.
@Bjorn Only place I have ever heard one is in the old Westerns . I learned something new today . THANKS .
I love this game. I have made several boards. But, man, that sax right beside the board, i don't know, may be a bad idea.😈
I prefer the first version, with more pieces on the board.
I always have my seax by the table in case I lose!
@@BjornAndreasBull-Hansen
That is exaktly, what i'm talking about. Maybeit brings an extra thrill to playing against you.
I know its been a while since the last comment and since this video has been posted. I have my own business, I do laser engravings and I'm making this game and will be selling it in my store online. I just wanted to see what people thought or if anyone was still interested in it before I make a bunch of them. I don't want to just start promoting my business without permission as well. But I would like to refer my customers to this video when they ask how to play, if that is ok.
4:59
(its just for me tho)
Makes me drag out my pictures of
My days of Sword & Shields reenacting days . Still have my SWORDS. ✊😠
I'd like to learn more strategies to play the attacker. As for us, the king always wins... I find the game really astonishing but I wish the rules were quite more standardized and/or there were communities/clubs to learn to play at a more advanced level, as it happens at chess. There must be more adversities for the king, once he reaches an adjacent square to the exit, there's no going back for the attacker...
My usual strategy as the attacker is to have 1 piece blocking diagonally every corner, this makes them hard to capture and hard to pass through, I only move them in the game with extreme caution, like if I know i can win the game and they have minimal escape routes or capture chances.
If you're interested, I've ideas to improve the balance and especially the complexity of Hnefatafl.
Knave Table
Did the Norse also play chess during the Viking age? I'd think yes because of contact with the Byzantines.
I know a guy who loves woodworking I'm gonna show this to.
im 63 and ive never heard of this
I made this game and played in many times with people. I love it, but one problem. The game is lopsided. The siege pieces have the advantage. Has anyone modified the rules to make the game more balanced?
This is what Amon Amarth does on their tour bus all day
xD or maybe ensiferum
How many spaces can the warriors/king move per turn?
Amanda H once piece can move in a straight horizontal or vertical line per player go.
They can’t jump over pieces and no other piece can stop on the kings squares.
@@thekg6811 so you can move as many squares as want as long as no one is blocking you?
Amanda H yup, one piece per turn
@@thekg6811 that's amazing!
time to spend some time in the shop making a set. I may use a piece of animal skin to make it portable. Great video as always.
Thank you, and good luck with your project!
Hey Bjorn, I don’t wanna get on a too personal note, and completely understand if you are uncomfortable answering my question but, what religion are you?
I don't like those definitions, so I hope it'a okay I don't answer.
Of course it’s okay. I just wanted to know because of your spirituality. Some religions are know to be more spiritual than others.
I guess this is the board game Terry Pratchett based Thudd on....