Tafl games (), also known as hnefatafl games, are a family of ancient Northern European strategy board games played on a checkered or latticed gameboard with two armies of uneven numbers. Names of different variants of tafl include hnefatafl, tablut, tawlbwrdd, brandubh, Ard Rí, and alea evangelii. Games in the tafl family were played in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Britain, Ireland, and Sápmi.Murray 1951, p. 56, Helmfrid 2025, p. 2 Duggan 2015 The Roman latrunculi influenced the development of tafl games during the medieval period.Helmfrid 2025, p. 7, and Murray 1951, p. 35. Also, Bayless 2005, p. 17, further discusses the link between and and the difference between these games and the family. Tafl gaming was eventually supplanted by chess in the 12th century,Murray 1951, pp. 56–57. but the tafl variant of the Sámi people, tablut, was in play until at least the 18th century. The rules for tablut were written down by the Swedish naturalist Linnaeus in 1732, and these were translated from Latin to English in 1811. All modern tafl games are based on the 1811 translation, which had many errors. New rules were added to amend the issues resulting from these errors, leading to the creation of a modern family of tafl games. Tablut is now also played in accordance with its original rules, which have been retranslated.
Etymology English has borrowed the term from (; ),Ellis 1869, pp. 554, 559. The pronunciation of f as [v] is included in the table on p. 554 (also here attributed to Jakob Grimm), and borne out in the comparative translation on p. 559. a generic term referring to board games.
(roughly , plausibly realised as ), became the preferred term for the game in Scandinavia by the end of the Viking Age, to distinguish it from other board games, such as (chess), (tables) and (fox games), as these became known. The specific name possibly arose as meaning "board game of the fist", from ("fist") + ,Helmfrid 2025, p. 1, discusses this etymology, elements of which are confirmed by Zoëga 1910, "hnefa"/"-tafl"/"hnefi". where "fist" referred to the central king-piece.
The precise etymology is not entirely certainMurray 1951, p. 60, says " (meaning doubtful, but used of the king-piece)", while Helmfrid 2025, p. 1, notes that is the genitive form of Icelandic (fist), but observes that "since the hnefi had a role corresponding to the king in chess it is often translated as king". but certainly referred to the king-piece,Murray 1951, p. 60. Helmfrid, Bell, and Hervarar Saga all agree on this point. and several sources refer to as "king's table". In Anglo-Saxon England, the term also referred to many board games. It is not known if the Anglo-Saxons had a specific name for the game or if they generically referred to it as in the way that modern people might refer to "cards".
Several games may be confused with games, due to the inclusion of the word in their names or other similarities. is the Old Norse name for fox and geese, a game dating from at least the 14th century. It is still known and played in Europe. is the Old Norse name for tables (the medieval forerunner of backgammon). is the Old Norse name for chess. or (Modern Irish: ) was played in Ireland. The Welsh equivalent was and the Breton equivalent ; all terms mean "wood-sense".Bayless 2005, p. 17. This popular medieval game was played with equal forces on each side and thus was not a variant, but rather may have been the medieval descendant of the Roman game or .Helmfrid 2025, p. 7, and Murray 1951, p. 35. Also, Bayless 2005, p. 17, further discusses the link between and and the difference between these games and the family. However, games may be evidence that the Roman game or was also played with handicaps, much as Capablanca's chess pieces most likely derive from a 16th and 17th century practice of playing at odds of the weaker player having an Amazon or royal crowned knight.
Variants The only variant of tafl where a relatively unambiguous has survived into modern times is tablut, the Sámi variant of the game, which was recorded by Linnaeus during his expedition to Lapland in 1732.
As for the medieval game, no complete, unambiguous description of the rules exists,Murray 1951, p. 61, states that of the many references to Tafl in the sagas, the only clue about the game is given in Friðþjófs saga, although this too is ambiguous and has been construed as a reference to chess. but the king's objective was to escape to (variously) the board's periphery or corners, while the greater force's objective was to capture him. Although the size of the board and the number of pieces varied, all games involved a distinctive 2:1 ratio of pieces, with the lesser side having a king-piece that started in the centre.
There is some controversy over whether some tafl games (i.e. Hnefatafl and Tawlbwrdd) may have employed dice.Helmfrid 2025, pp. 10–11, discusses a set of intriguing yet ultimately puzzling riddles related in Hervarar Saga, referring to hnefatafl.Bayless 2005, pp. 15–16, suggests that several archaeological finds in Scandinavia reveal hnefatafl sets that included dice, and discusses controversy over whether the very name tawlbwrdd suggests the throwing of dice.
Alea evangelii
Alea evangelii, which means "game of the gospels",Helmfrid 2025, p. 9 was described, with a drawing, in the 12th-century manuscript 122 of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, from Anglo-Saxon England.Murray 1951, p. 61 It was played on a 19×19 board of intersections. The manuscript describes the layout of the board as a religious allegory, but it is clear that this was a game in the Tafl family.
Ard Rí
Ard Rí (Gaelic for 'High King') was a Scottish tafl variant played on a 7×7 board with a king and eight defenders against sixteen attackers. This is the least documented of the known tafl variants.While there is a dearth of information in the published sources, Ard Ri is briefly described and illustrated in four web articles:1. 2. 3. 4. One of the generally accepted rules, the king escaping to any edge square and not just to any corner square, gives the defending side an insurmountable advantage. This advantage is so strong that the game is solved, with the king always able to escape and thus the defender will always win.
Brandubh
Brandubh (or brandub) () was the Irish form of tafl. From two poemsHelmfrid 2025, pp. 7–8. In Bayless 2005, p. 17, these passages are reproduced and well referenced. it is known that it was played with five men against eight, and that one of the five was a "Branán", or chief. A number of 7×7 boards have been found, the most famous being the elaborate wooden board found at Ballinderry in 1932, featuring holes for pegged pieces, possibly to allow for portability of the game.Murray 1951, p. 59, discusses the Ballinderry board with an accompanying sketch of the board. This board is also discussed by Helmfrid 2025, p. 12, and Bayless 2005, p. 14, calls it "the most celebrated find" in Ireland. The name brandubh means "black raven".Bayless 2005, p. 17, Helmfrid 2025, p. 7
Original rules were not found, but using these 7×7 boards, the text of the two poems and the tablut rules as a basis, the World Tafl Federation was able to reconstruct balanced rules validated by several tests.
Despite its small size board and the speed of the games, Brandubh offers an undeniable tactical and strategic exercise in which the first mistake very often leads to defeat. The small number of pieces means that each of them must often simultaneously defend and attack: it is therefore easy to forget one of these tasks if one focuses too much on the other. As in the great games of Tafl, sacrifices are useful, especially for the defenders, but with only four pieces, it is important not to weaken the king too early in the game.
Hnefatafl
Hnefatafl (sometimes now referred to as Viking chess) was a popular game in medieval Scandinavia and was mentioned in several of the Norse sagas. Some of these saga references have contributed to controversy over the possible use of dice in playing hnefatafl.Helmfrid 2025, pp. 10–11, discusses the riddles in Hervarar saga, which have been interpreted to suggest the use of dice in hnefatafl. The rules of the game were never explicitly recorded,Bell 1979, p. 77 and only playing pieces and fragmentary boards are extant, so it is not known for sure how the game was played. If dice were in fact used, nothing has been recorded about how they were employed. Archaeological and literary sources indicate hnefatafl may have been played on a 13×13 or an 11×11 board.Bayless 2005, p. 15, mentions an 11×11 Hnefatafl board from the 12th century, found near Trondheim, and Helmfrid 2025, p. 7, reports that Robert ap Ifan drew an 11×11 board in his manuscript, while Murray 1951, p. 58, reports that the board found on the Gokstad ship had 13×13 squares on one side and nine men's morris on the reverse.
Hnefatafl became a popular game in Northern Europe during the Viking era (end of the 8th century to 1000 CE), a turbulent time full of conflicts. When chess became a popular game during the Middle Ages, the rules of hnefatafl were forgotten over time. Hnefatafl was particularly popular in Nordic countries and followed the Viking civilization to other parts of Europe, primarily to the British Isles and the Viking country of Garðaríki in what is now part of Russia.S. Hilbertsson and B. Gunnarsson, Ensk-Islensk/Islensk-Ensk Ordabok (Reykjavík: Ordabokautgafan, 1996).
The game developed differently at different locations. Archaeologists have found editions in places such as Ireland and Ukraine. Hnefatafl literally translates to "fist table", from the Old Norse (equivalently in modern Icelandic) hnef, 'fist', and tafl, 'table'.
Modern hnefatafl The rules for Norse tafl were lost, but in the 1900s attempts were made to reconstruct the game based on the rules for the Sámi tafl game tablut. The rules for tablut had been written down in the 1700s, and translated from Latin to English in the 1800s (see ). Unfortunately, the rules were poorly translated from Latin and gave unbalanced , mainly due to the mistaken idea that the king must be surrounded on four sides to be captured – instead of two. Different innovations were made to create a game that favoured the defender side less, such as limiting the king's escape possibilities to the corners (instead of the entire edge of the board), making the king "weaponless" (unable to participate in capture), making the initial starting points of the attackers inaccessible for the king, and making it easier to capture the king against the corner fields of the board.
Today, many different versions of modern hnefatafl are in play – both online and on physical boards that are sold commercially. One variant used in tournaments is Copenhagen hnefatafl, which also features a "shield wall" mechanism to capture several soldiers at once, and an "exit fort" rule that enables the king to escape on the edge while otherwise being limited to escape in the corners.
Tablut
This variant, from Sápmi, is the best documented historical tafl variant.Helmfrid 2025, p. 2 It is unique among tafl games in that it is known to have still been played in the 18th century. It may also have survived into the late 19th century. P. A. wrote that the Sámi played a chess-like game where the pieces were called "Swedes and Russians", which follows Sámi tafl terminology.Helmfrid 2025, p. 5. states, "If there are not cards enough for everyone, it may happen that a few men sit down and play a sort of chess, where the pieces are called Russians and Swedes, and try to defeat each other. Here intense battles are fought, which easily can be observed on the players, who sometimes are so absorbed that they cannot see or hear anything else."