'Hnefatafl' refers to a group of board games originally played in especially the Viking and Celtic regions of northwestern Europe. Although often called 'Viking Chess' or 'Celtic Chess', they are definitely
not related to chess, and predate chess in Europe by half a millennium or more.
Hnefatafl-type games (under several names) often appear in ancient Irish, Welsh and Icelandic myths and sagas, but the details of the rules remain a mystery. What
is clear is that hnefatafl was (and is) an asymmetric strategic board game, played by two people. One side has a king and a number of defenders; the other side twice the number of attackers, giving an "n + 1 vs 2n" set-up. The aims of the two sides differ: The attackers' aim is to capture the king, whereas the defenders' aim is to let the king escape from the board (either by reaching the edge of the board or one of the corners squares). Capture is not by replacement, as in chess, but by custodianship: a piece is captured when 'sandwiched' between two enemy pieces.
Further information on this family of games is readily available on the internet, and I especially recommend
this and
this website. In my opinion by far the best two books written about the game, focusing on origin and history, and on play strategy, respectively, are by Jonathon George:
In this blog, I present the hnefatafl sets in my wee collection, either bought, or partially or wholly made myself, as well as several modern games based on, and/or inspired by hnefatafl.
