HNEFATAFL: History and How to Play

Hnefatafl, popularized as “The Viking Game”, became a great success in Scandinavia and Northern Europe during late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages. In this video, I show you the story of the game and how historians have reconstructed it since the 19th century. I also show you how to play Copenhagen Hnefatafl, a developed variant of Feltar Hnefatafl (Gameplay section: 9:56)

Do you want to know more about old games and how to play them? Follow me on instagram (@ancientgaming_ludus) and stay tuned for more content!

This video is for educational purposes and no copyright infringement is intended.

OTHER FACTS AND CURIOSITIES
● The version of “The Saga of King Hendrik the Wise” used for this video was translated by the actual son of J. R. R. Tolkien, the famous author of The Lord of the Rings.
● The pieces of Hnefatafl that I use in this video display black attackers and white defenders, but the actual historical sources suggest the opposite was the usual way to design them. We also do not have any historical hnefatafl pieces with such fancy designs. Like most tabula games, the designs tended to be simple and practical.
● Did you spot the bear? Wonder why did I put it there?
● The game displayed in the picture of 8:49 is actually called Alea Evangelii (the Game of the Gospels), but it technically counts as a tafl game. I will cover it in another video.


RESOURCES USED FOR THIS VIDEO

Published Resources:
● Handbook of Medieval Culture, Ed. Albrecht Classen, De Gruyter, 2015.
● Helmfrid, Sten. “Hnefatafl: The Strategic Board Game of the Vikings”, 2005.
● Nordal, S. & Turville-Petre, G. The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise. Trans. Cristopher Tolkien, Thomas Nelson and Sons LTD, 1960.
● Parlett, David. Oxford History of Board Games. Oxford University Press, 1999.
● Rasmusen, Eric. Games and Information: an Introduction to Game Theory. Basil Blackwell, 1989.
● Schulte, Michael. “Board Games of the Vikings: from Hnefatafl to Chess”. Maal Og Minne 2 (2017): 1-42.
● Walker, Damian. Reconstructing Hnefatafl. Kindle Edition, 2014.

Online Resources:
● Damian Walker’s page on Hnefatafl - http://tafl.cyningstan.com/
● Competitive Hnefatafl - http://aagenielsen.dk/hnefatafl_onlin...
● Frithiof’s saga - http://www.gutenberg.org/files/59689/...
● http://hem.bredband.net/b512479/

Music:
Intro & Main theme: Happy Life - FREDJI [Vlog No Copyright Music]
●    • Happy Life – FREDJI (No Copyright Music)