Wouldn't it be great to be able to add a genuine old hnefatafl set to my collection? Well, no chance of me ever finding one in my garden, which leaves the next best thing: a replica set. I came across this very nice looking replica set, and ordered one.
The board is simple in design (as it would have been in Viking times, judging from the few archaeological finds of hnefatafl boards), and made using a very nice piece of wood.
The glass pieces are the 'swirly' type as shown in the first picture in this post. They are hand-made, so they're all slightly different (again, as they would have been in Viking times). The pieces are nearly spherical (with flattened bases), with the king being taller.
The set looks really nice together!
While looking for replica glass hnefatafl sets, I stumbled across a replica of a king from the Birka grave, and felt that king would also go well with the replica set.
So here's the same set, but with the original king replaced by the 'Birka king'.
Original king obviously matches better with the other pieces, being in the same style and colours. Birka king stands out more. What's your favourite?
By the way, is it just me, or does the Birka king have a hint of Dalek?
