Hnefatafl: Ancient Viking Board Game “King’s Table” Popular In Medieval Scandinavia

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Hnefatafl or tafl was an ancient Viking board game that became very popular in medieval Scandinavia. The Vikings played board games as early as 400 A.D. Hnefatafl was a war strategy game.

Viking chess hnefatafl on a carved board made of dark wood. Credit: Olga Makukha - Adobe Stock

The name means "King's Table," and although no description of the rules of the Hnefatafl exists, we know the game resembled chess, at least to some extent.

The king aimed to escape to the board's periphery or corners, while the greater force aimed to capture him. The attacking force has the natural advantage at the start of each game, likely indicating an essential cultural aspect by mimicking the success of Viking raids.

Vikings brought the board game to the lands they conquered, and eventually, the Hnefatafl became popular in other countries such as Ireland, Britain, Wales, and Iceland. Archaeological discoveries reveal the game was even popular in Ukraine.

The reconstructed Hnefatafl gameboard. Image credit: Andreas Zautner - Public Domain

In ancient times, board games were as popular as today. Board games were standard in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and other parts of the world.

The Royal Game Of Ur played in Mesopotamia is at least 4,400 years old! It is widely considered one of the oldest game boards ever discovered. Board games such as Senet were widespread in ancient Egypt, and people from all levels of society played them.

The Vikings did not differ from other ancient civilizations. They, too, enjoyed board games.

Very little was known about the Viking board game for quite some time. Hnefatafl was mentioned in several medieval sagas, including the Orkneyinga saga, Friðþjófs saga, and Hervarar saga.

The earliest mention of the game appears in Vôluspa 60:

"Then in the grass, the golden taeflor ("table-men"),

the far-famed ones, 

which they had owned in older days, will be found again."[8]

Both men and women played Hnefatafl. The Viking board is depicted on runestones.

The Ockelbo Runestone, Sweden, depicts two people playing the Hnefatafl. Image source

One runestone from Ockelbo, Sweden, shows two men balancing a board game on their knees. The image reflects the saga references where arguments over the game frequently cause one or both players to leap to their feet, upsetting the tafl-board and scattering the pieces.

Fragments of actual game boards have been excavated. One board discovered on the Viking ship Gokstad has a 15 × 15 ruled board on one side for tafl and what appears to be a nine-men-morris board (O.N. mylta, "mills") on the reverse side.

Hnefatafl was famous for a long time. In the 11th century, as chess grew in popularity, the magnificent ancient Viking board game became more or less forgotten. Only people living in remote areas played it.

Hnefatafl was last recorded as being played in Wales in 1587 and in Lappland in 1723.

Written by - Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com

Updated on January 17, 2024

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