Ancient Board Games - tafl

     The game of "tafl" was the only board game player by the Saxons. This is what H.J.R. Murray suggested. According to him, the game of tafl was player in Scandinavia before 400 AD.
     The game is asymmetric. It is played on a square chequered board with an odd number of squares on each side. In the center of the board is placed the king while he is defended by the pieces placed symmetrical around him. The pieces that attack are twice as many.If you're playing as the defending team, the object of the game is to take the king either to the edge of the game or in the corners. I played the game but it was pretty broken as you could easily rush the king to the borders without much effort. If you're playing as the attacking team you have to surround the white king and prevent him reaching a corner square.
     The pieces move only horizontally or vertically. A piece is captured if it is surrounded from two sides by the opponent. The kind must be surrounded from all four sides in order to be captured.
      The game has different variations: "tablut" from Lapland, "tawl bwrdd", the Anglo Saxon "alea evangelii".
      Helmfried was talking about the balance of the game as the king can easily escape to any of the square on the edge so additional rules should help.