Monday, February 1, 2021

Papillon's Escape

The concept behind hnefatafl lends itself well to stories involving escape in some way, and the Papillon's Escape board game, dating back to 1988, is a good example of that 

The game is based on Henry Charrière's escape from the penal colony at Devil's Island in French Guiana, as detailed in his (partly or wholly) autobiographical novel Papillon.


The plastic board features raised squares, without any ornamentation. The pieces are wooden, and painted purple for the 'king' (or rather, for Henry Charrière), black for his helpers, and red for the opposing guards.


As such, it is very similar to a 9 x 9 version of hnefatafl, although the starting array around the king is different from the usual cross or diamond formation.


Unlike in traditional hnefatafl, all pieces can only more one square orthogonally. 'Papillon' escapes from Devil's Island by reaching the edge of the board, whereas the guards win by capturing him; capture is via the normal custodianship method.