Our game uses Copenhagen Hnefatafl rules

Starting position

How to move a piece

Objective

  • The dark pieces (attackers) lay siege to the center, their goal: capture the king.
  • The light pieces (defenders) must break the siege and escort their king to safety.

Gameplay

  • Players: 2 (one attacker, one defender).
  • Turn Order: Attackers move first.
  • Movement: All pieces move like chess rooks — any number of empty squares along rows or columns.
  • The throne (center square) and corner squares may only be occupied by the king.
  • The king may participate in captures just like other pieces.

Capturing Mechanics

Standard Capture

  • All pieces except the king are captured when sandwiched between two enemy pieces, or between an enemy and a restricted square (throne or corner).,
  • Captures happen only if the trap is completed during your move — moving between two enemies is allowed.
Normal sandwich capture
Multiple captures at once
Capture against corner square
Capture against middle square
Capturing does not happen when moving between pieces
Capturing does not happen when the king is on the throne

Shieldwall

  • A row of 2 or more pieces on the board edges is captured if: It’s bracketed at both ends (by enemies or a corner) Each piece has an enemy directly opposite.
  • The king may assist in shieldwall captures or be part of the row, but he is never captured by this rule.

Restricted Squares

  • The throne (center square) and corner squares are restricted
  • Only the king may stand on restricted squares
  • These squares are hostile for capture purposes: they can act like enemy pieces when surrounding a unit.

Attackers Win

King gets captured

the king must be surrounded on all four sides.
Also applies on the throne
the king is near to the throne, he is captured when surrounded on the three non-throne sides.

Defenders Surrounded

If the attackers create an unbroken ring around the king and all remaining defenders, blocking any escape, they win the game.


King does not get captured

The king cannot be captured while on the board edge if there are any defending pieces left on the board.
The king cannot be captured against a corner square.

Repetition

  • Repetition is forbidden — if a player causes a perpetual repetition, white (defenders) lose the game.
  • If a player has no legal moves, they lose by immobilization.
  • If the game cannot be ended due to insufficient pieces or no possible victory, the result is a draw.
If the board repeats 3 times, defenders lose.

Defenders win

Corner Escape: If the king reaches any corner square, he escapes, and the defenders win.
Exit Fort: The defenders also win if the king is on the board edge, can still legally move, and the attackers cannot break the fort to prevent escape.
Another example of an edge fort