Tafl games (pronounced [tavl], also known as hnefatafl games) are a family of ancient Northern European strategy board games played on a checkered or latticed gameboard with two armies of uneven numbers. Most probably they are based upon the Roman game Ludus latrunculorum. Names of different variants of Tafl include Hnefatafl, Tablut, Tawlbwrdd, Brandubh, Ard Rí, and Alea Evangelii. Games in the tafl family were played in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Britain, Ireland, and Sápmi. Tafl gaming was eventually supplanted by chess in the 12th century, but the tafl variant of the Sámi people, tablut, was in play until at least the 18th century. The rules for tablut were written down by the Swedish naturalist Linnaeus in 1732, and these were translated from Latin to English in 1811. All modern tafl games are based on the 1811 translation, which had many errors. New rules were added to amend the issues resulting from these errors, leading to the creation of a modern family of tafl games. In addition, tablut is now also played in accordance with its original rules, which have been retranslated.
Etymology
The term (Old Norse: "table", "board"; ) is the original Norse name of the game. (roughly , plausibly realised as ), became the preferred term for the game in Scandinavia by the end of the Viking Age, to distinguish it from other board games, such as (chess), (Tables) and (Fox games), as these became known. The specific name possibly arose as meaning "board game of the fist", from ("fist") + , where "fist" referred to the central king-piece.
The precise etymology is not entirely certain but certainly referred to the king-piece, and several sources refer to as "King's table". In Anglo-Saxon England, the term also referred to many board games. It is not known if the Anglo-Saxons had a specific name for the game or if they generically referred to it as in the way that modern people might refer to "cards".
Several games may be confused with games, due to the inclusion of the word in their names or other similarities. is the Old Norse name for Fox and Geese, a game dating from at least the 14th century. It is still known and played in Europe. is the Old Norse name for Tables (the medieval forerunner of Backgammon). is the Old Norse name for chess. or (Modern Irish: ) was played in Ireland. The Welsh equivalent was and the Breton equivalent ; all terms mean "wood-sense". This popular medieval game was played with equal forces on each side and thus was not a variant, but rather may have been the medieval descendant of the Roman game or .
Tafl variants
The only variant of tafl where a relatively unambiguous has survived into modern times is tablut, the Sámi variant of the game which was recorded by Linnaeus during his expedition to Lapland in 1732.
As for the medieval game, no complete, unambiguous description of the rules exists, but the king's objective was to escape to (variously) the board's periphery or corners, while the greater force's objective was to capture him. Although the size of the board and the number of pieces varied, all games involved a distinctive 2:1 ratio of pieces, with the lesser side having a king-piece that started in the centre.
There is some controversy over whether some tafl games (i.e. Hnefatafl and Tawlbwrdd) may have employed dice.
Alea evangelii
Alea evangelii, which means "game of the gospels", was described, with a drawing, in the 12th-century Corpus Christi College, Oxford manuscript 122, from Anglo-Saxon England. It was played on the intersections of a board of 18×18 cells. The manuscript describes the layout of the board as a religious allegory, but it is clear that this was a game in the Tafl family.
Ard Rí
Ard Rí (Gaelic: High King) was a Scottish tafl variant played on a 7×7 board with a king and eight defenders against sixteen attackers. This is the least documented of the known tafl variants. One of the generally accepted rules, the king escaping to any edge square and not just to any corner square, gives the defending side an insurmountable advantage. This advantage is so strong that the game is solved, with the king always able to escape and thus the defender will always win.
Brandubh
Brandubh (or brandub) () was the Irish form of tafl. From two poems it is known that it was played with five men against eight, and that one of the five was a "Branán", or chief. A number of 7×7 boards have been found, the most famous being the elaborate wooden board found at Ballinderry in 1932, featuring holes for pegged pieces, possibly to allow for portability of the game. The name brandubh means "black raven".