Tablut

Played in Lapland till the eighteenth century, tablut is the version of hnefatafl for which we have the most complete rules. A king attempts to reach the edge of the board, which has nine rows of nine squares. Eight defenders aid him in his quest, while sixteen attackers attempt to capture him.

History of Tablut

The Saami pasted a theme onto the game: this was a battle with a Swedish king and his eight defenders, who were being attacked by sixteen Muscovite attackers. Apart from the theme, this game is assumed to be very close in its rules to the games that the Vikings played.

Linnaeus recorded the game in Latin. He left out only a few details, for instance, who moved first. Some rules were included by example, rather than by direct statements. Some rules were apparently exceptions to others, but were not explicitly stated as such, making them look like contradictions. All this made translation and interpretation difficult.

This led to a faulty English translation, which appeared in 1811 as the first publication of the rules. Done by British biologist James Edward Smith, this translation attempted to resolve the "contradictions" by ignoring or correcting contradictory rules. Thorough playtesting, not within Smith's remit, would expose these rules as unbalanced.

From this situation there sprang a multiplicity of variants of tablut, and of hnefatafl in general, that attempted to rebalance the game by misdirected reinterpretation (of the English rules), by borrowing from other games, or by sheer imagination. This process started in 1855 with the publication of Imperial Contest, the first commercial tablut game, and continued till the 21st century.

Some time after 2010 an untranslated version of Linnaeus' early work was digitised and made available on-line, allowing anyone to see the original Latin rules for themselves. This resolved many problems, and showed that with the exception of a few details, Linnaeus had recorded a perfectly balanced and playable game.

These rules have been re-translated into English and other modern languages, and have been given a number of thorough play-tests in competition. They are now becoming a standard for tablut, and for other versions of hnefatafl on larger boards too.

Rules for Tablut

1. Tablut is played on a board of 9×9 squares.

2. There are 25 pieces: a king and his eight defenders, and sixteen attackers. These are placed in the shape of a cross with serifs, as in the diagram.

3. The attacking side takes the first move.

4. Pieces move any distance orthogonally, not landing on nor jumping over other pieces on the board.

5. No piece may land on the central square, called the "castle", not even the king once he has left it.

6. A piece other than the king is captured when it is surrounded orthogonally on two opposite squares by enemies. The king can pair up with a defender for the purpose of capturing attackers.

7. A piece may also be captured between an enemy and the empty castle.

8. When in the castle, the king is captured by surrounding him on four orthogonal sides with attackers.

9. When stood beside the castle, the king may be captured by surrounding him on the remaining three sides with attackers.

10. Elsewhere on the board, the king is captured as other pieces.

11. If the king when in the castle is surrounded on three sides by attackers, and on the fourth by a defender, the defender may be captured by surrounding it between an attacker and the king.

12. The king wins the game on reaching any square at the edge of the board. The attackers win if they capture the king.

13. The game is drawn if a position is repeated, if a player cannot move, or if the players otherwise agree it.

Rule 3 is a modern invention. Linnaeus does not state who moves first, but having the question settled one way or another makes it easier to record games and hold tournaments.

In rule 5, the king is barred from his own castle. Linnaeus states that no piece can enter this central square, and this rule interprets that literally.

An addition to the rules not found in Linnaeus' Latin text is the word "empty" in rule 7. This has been added because, without it, rule 11 would be completely redundant. As it is, rule 11 describes the one instance where a defending piece can be captured against the non-empty central square.

Rule 12 is formulated by inference. Linnaeus gives only a few examples of where the king must reach to win the game, all at various points on the edge of the board.

Rule 13 is a modern invention designed to prevent games going on forever or coming to a standstill when neither player is able to win.

Strategy in Tablut

The king is relatively safe in his castle. But once out into the field, he becomes vulnerable. Though he is captured in the same way as a defender, his vulnerability is greater as his loss ends the game, thus in reality making him a weaker piece. A defender may make bold attacks with the possibility of sacrifice to obtain a better position for its side, the king does not have this capability.

Because the king wins at the board's edge, the defenders must try to make use of open ranks or files, that is, a rank or file with no pieces upon it. If the king can reach an open rank or file, giving simultaneous routes to two opposite edges, then his victory is certain unless he can be immediately captured. It is not possible to block off both routes at once. The attackers must try to take control of open ranks and files as soon as possible, and in the mean time prevent the king from reaching them.