Latest News
New Archaeological Research Provides Evidence for Female Warriors - and Hnefatafl Players!
11 Sep: In the past, the presence of weaponry in a Viking burial has suggested that the deceased was male. Recent research by researchers at Uppsala and Stockholm University has turned this assumption on its head. At Birka in Sweden, there are thousands of burials, of which over a thousand have been excavated. One, grave 581, contains the various accoutrements of a high status warrior, including a sword, arrows, and two horses. While the items buried with the person ... (read more...)
Fetlar Tournament Returns!
4 Sep: The famous Fetlar Quick-play Hnefatafl Championship is set to return this autumn. Originally created by the late Peter Kelly, the tournament has had a few years' hiatus due to his sadly passing away some time ago. But now it is set for a return, in the form of a memorial tournament for Peter. First held in 2008, the Fetlar tournament (or "Hnefatafl World Champsionship", to give it its proper name) lit the way for other regular live tournaments. ... (read more...)
Laser Engraver on the Way!
31 Jul: In the coming weeks there could be laser-etched hnefatafl boards finding their way to the shop. Over the weekend, I ordered an A3 laser engraver. This should hopefully allow me to make more boards for custom hnefatafl games. I had intended to try out a small laser engraver, suitable for doing 150x150mm (6") boards like the Brandub games I have so much trouble finding the time to make. But the larger engraver was less than 20% more expensive, ... (read more...)
Hull 2017 Matches All On-line
5 Jul: Today the last of the matches from the 2017 Hull Hnefatafl Tournament have been put on-line. There is a page dedicated to the tournament here . Since last news was posted with the tournament final result, I have been working to transcribe the matches and comment on them. Each match on the tournament page has a brief comment highlighting any interesting tactical or strategic issue that came up, a picture of the final position, and a list of ... (read more...)
Hull's First Hnefatafl Tournament Has a Winner!
17 Jun: The Hull Hnefatafl Tournament 2017 took place earlier today. With the hot weather, footfall in the museum was minimal, but the tournament managed to start with six participants. In addition to that, quite a good number of people wandered in to look at the games on display, and some to play casual games of hnefatafl. Six isn't a suitable number for a knockout tournament, so we had a Swiss-style tournament instead. Everyone played every round, and scores of ... (read more...)
Hnefatafl Tournament All Set to Go
11 Jun: Preparations for Saturday's hnefatafl tournament in Hull are in their final stage. The tournament will take place at the Hull and East Riding Museum on Saturday 17th June, with registrations starting at 10am. Up to sixteen places are available, with the tournament itself to start at 11am. Those not taking part in the tournament are welcome to join in casual play, and there will be an exhibition of hnefatafl games too. The rules of the game are those ... (read more...)
Hnefatafl Tournament Gets City of Culture Listing
17 Feb: The Hull Hnefatafl Tournament for this June has now been included on the official City of Culture web site. Taking its place among exhibitions, lectures and performances, the event is being brought to the attention of Hull residents and visitors looking for something interesting to do this June. The UK City of Culture celebrations occur once every four years, and Hull is the second city to win the title. Events are going on every day of the year, and ... (read more...)
New Date for English National Hnefatafl Championship
13 Feb: This year the English National Hnefatafl Champsionships have moved both date and venue. The first four championships having been held in July or August at Sutton Hoo, the 2017 champsionship will now be held in April, at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village. The format for the championship remains very similar. On Saturday 15th April, visitors will be taught to play hnefatafl by umpire Grandmaster Tim Millar. The champsionship itself will be held on Sunday 16th. As this is the ... (read more...)
The Viking Game is Back in Stock
15 Jan: Stocks of The Viking Game have now arrived, so visitors to The Hnefatafl Shop can now pick up a copy here again. Supplies dried up just before Christmas, due to the suppliers having problems sourcing the canvas mats used for the boards. Despite The Hnefatafl Shop increasing its stock over Christmas, we still managed to run out. Hopefully the arrival of this latest batch of stock means that History Craft's mat sourcing problems are over and that ... (read more...)
Hnefatafl in Spanish
12 Nov: A new project has started to translate much of the material from the web site into Spanish. The first page has recently been published, and there will be more to follow. Jose de Jesus Deloya Martinez from Fundación Deportes Mentales contacted me earlier this week to ask permission to create Spanish translations of the material on the web site. This will help to promote the game in Spanish-speaking countries, such as Columbia where Jose is based. The first ... (read more...)
Hnefatafl Applet Re-enabled
3 Oct: Through some accident or other, the web site's applet was accidentally removed from the Play Hnefatafl Here page some time in the past. I've re-added it, so that people with certain systems and browsers will now be able to play again. The applet allows you to play against the computer, choosing from a number of common variants or setting up your own preferred variant by tweaking the rules options given in the panel. You can also set the ... (read more...)
Leaflet for Hull Hnefatafl Tournament
3 Sep: A leaflet has been produced to advertise next year's hnefatafl tournament in Hull, England. The Hull Hnefatafl Tournament 2017 Leaflet includes a full set of rules for Tablut , the version of hnefatafl that will feature in the tournament, as well as information and contact details about the tournament itself. Designed to be printed on both sides of an A4 or US Letter sheet of paper, the leaflet can then be folded into four pages of A5. Anyone ... (read more...)
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