Hnefatafl...

[Harry Faversham]

The 'Viking Game'. The kids bought me this on a trip to Bute in Scotland...



 

[von Lucky]

I have one too - it's a lot of fun.

[has.been]

It was all the rage in Viking-land until the kids got hold of that new fangled game 'Chess'
I like it as it is an asymmetrical game. Each side has different forces, objectives & ways of achieving them.
It reminds me of the first asymmetrical game I actually played, WRG's Decline & Fall. Another great game.

[Fenrir]

Hnefatafl gets broken out of the cupboard every Christmas at my folks' place!

[Dr. Zombie]

It is a great game. It is really simple so you can play it with the kids but it has a lot of tactics and debth.

I have often toyed with the idea of making a miniatures version with Vikings and Saxons. But never actually gotten around to it.

[WillieB]

It is a great game. It is really simple so you can play it with the kids but it has a lot of tactics and debth.

I have often toyed with the idea of making a miniatures version with Vikings and Saxons. But never actually gotten around to it.

Would it be possible to explain the basics of the game?

[Dr. Zombie]

The object is for the white king who is in the center to get to one of the corners. You "kill" the warriors or the king if you have a warrior on both sides.

[DintheDin]

Being a chess club player for over 45 years, I tried to study ancient chess history -many chess variations, one of them is Hnefatafl.
As already mentioned, it is an asymmetrical game, so each player has to develop a different strategy, something that makes it peculiar and interesting!
It belongs to the Scandinavian influenced "tafl" (table) games and I believe that it is worth to receive more publicity, as it conveys the ancient Viking culture.

I've found a very interesting link, how to play the game

Hnefatafl - tactics and strategy
http://www.tim-millar.co.uk/section509308.html

Each pic covers a topic, you can read it till the end  by pressing Next
It has some very useful instructions, I bring here an example:

"A recurring trouble for the white player is getting the king mobile, and it’s not just the black warriors who get in his way. One of your problems as white is that your strongest piece starts the game stuck behind your (weaker) warriors, and it will be at least the third move, and more likely the fourth, before you can move him anywhere at all.
 The king is usefully out of the starting position on or after the fourth move.
 That gives black at least four moves to prepare for your king’s emergence.
 You must be prepared to sacrifice a warrior or two in order to get your king to a useful position."

@Harry Faversham: Thank you for sharing, your post made me go and re-read some relevant topics, I'm now intrigued to create a Hnefatafl board and pieces for the club, it would be very exciting to see it played with some finely painted 28mm Viking and Saxon (Saga) figures!