Viking Chess, also known as Hnefatafl (pronounced "nef-ah-tah-fel") is a ancient Scandinavian game of capture the king which predates classic Chess.
Want to have less video gaming in your home?? This is a great way to have fun playing face to face with friends and family and to create conversation and friendly competition. This hand made Viking Chess Set is a great gift for the family that doesn't have complex rules nor does it take a long time to play.
The Viking King's team plays a game primarily of defense, guarding and protecting the king (starting in the center of the board). The objective of the Viking King's team is to protect the king all the while attempting to move him to one of the four specially marked corners. This team starts with twelve defenders and the King.
The attacking team flanks the defending team on all four sides with six attackers per side. The game play for the Viking attackers is to capture the King before he makes his way to any of the four corners.
Movement: All of the Viking Chess pieces move in the same manner with no movement advantage to any piece. The movement of the pieces is similar to that of the Castle, or Rook in the game of chess. The pieces can move up/down or left/right in any number of spaces but cannot move through any other piece.
Capturing: The goal of Viking Chess is to either take the king (the Attackers goal) or to move the King to one of the four corners before being captured (the King's goal). But, there is also a capture element by which either team can remove the other players pieces from the game and thereby gain more advantage. To capture an Attacker or Defender piece, the opposing team needs to flank the piece on either side. (See the description of the images below to see capturing). The only piece which captures differently is the King. He must be flanked on three sides.
Setup: The 11x11 game board has Celtic runes engraved in each of the four corners of the game board. These indicate the safe port for the King and remain empty during setup. The Attacking team hold six positions on each flank marked with the circle shaped rune. The King starts in the center position of the board flanked by his twelve defenders, each with their corresponding rune.
Construction: The game board measures 12"x12" x 1/2" thick and all game pieces are roughly 1" in diameter.