Reconstructing Hnefatafl

I have read many different bibliographies on the game and played many hours trying out the different versions of the family of games, teaching the game to younger generations and have been awed when I have had the chance to see a “real” remain of a tafl or game piece in a museum or exhibition. That being said, trust me when I tell you I have been fascinated when coming across this book “Reconstructing Hnefatafl”. The book is monumentally pure, precise, rich, thoroughly historical and full of common sense (the one that comes only after playing endless hours with multiple rules or variations of a game) when filling in the existing gaps. It is a delight to follow its focus of not wanting to impose or appropriate an “official” version of the game and presenting the different interpretations with a setup which denotes passion yet in such an un-passionate way so that the reader may digest and make each his/her own conclusion. A special standing ovation for the Latin updated translations, they must be commended for they finally click some pieces of the puzzle.It's complete suggested rules to the Tablut and it's interpolation to the Tawlbwrdd are the best single recollection of rules I can recall, not only because of their real proven functionality, but mainly for it's historical accuracy, which is where, for me, lies the mesmerizering beauty of these rules. The highlights for me were:1. Favor the cross formation over the diamond one for the defenders. Although the commercially available Copenhagen/ Fetlar variants favor the diamond pattern, the cross formation provides the best balanced results and is consistent with Linnaeus sketch. 2. Have the king being captured like a normal piece with two pieces only, with the known exceptions of him being in his castle or adjacent to it. Again, the book has masterfully demonstrated the historical validity of this assertion which makes the game truly balanced and fun. 3. Emphasize the Linnaeus goal of reaching an edge, not a corner, sharpening the elegance and beauty of the Tablut variant. 4. Have the king being unable to re-enter his castle once it has exited it and have the castle become hostile to defenders also once it has been unoccupied as it is a confirmation of the true reason of the markings in a tafl board.

I think it would be fun to recreate all the different boards inthe book and try the games.

I got interested in Hnefatafl recently from my antiquarian interests. I have only played a few games, but the idea of an asymmetric game is interesting to me, as it maps better onto real world situations as a mathematical metaphor. This book is the only one I know of on the subject, and the author is to be commended for his work. It covers several variations of Tafl games, and covers the historical literature which informs our knowledge of this family of historical game.It's a bit frustrating though, as my interests in the subject are primarily mathematical and game-theoretical. Since nobody knows what the actual rules are, it's difficult to analyze things like opening moves and end games. Only one computer scientist (Philip Hingston) has had a go at looking for interesting game variations using genetic algorithms, so the subject is virgin territory. I suppose one of the reasons for this is the fact that ... the rules are not well established yet. This book helps explain why.As a game, the ones I've played or looked at online have been a bit boring and uneven (it seems every implementation of the game online follows a different rule set), but obviously it held people's interest for a very long time, so there must be something to it.

This in an in-depth and fascinating exploration of the hnefatafl family of games. The author uses historical accounts as well as strategic considerations/speculations to reconstruct the likely rules of these games. Walker approaches these games from both a historical perspective and a gamer's perspective. While past writers may have been happy to relay, for example, Linnaeus's account of Tablut without consideration to the problems inherent in those rules, Walker goes over those rules one by one and enlists the use of a more accurate translation of Linnaeus to address those problems, making the game balanced and playable. All of Walker's speculations and justifications are well thought out and reasonable given the information at hand.There are seven different reconstructions in all, and that covers the known descriptions and board types which have been found. We may never know all the details of how hnefatafl was played, but I believe the rules in this book bring us as close as we can get.

This game of strategy and cunning is one of those great, historic games that take a few minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. All the best basic board games appear to be that kind. Many lovely sets of Hnefatafl can be found for purchase, and you can make simple sets with counters and a pencil and paper. I'm waiting for developers to create Hnefatafl with Friends so that I can play with folks all over the world. This historic game is explained brilliantly from its construction to the rules to the key strategies for winning by Walker in a way that is humorous, approachable, yet includes all the scholarly detail you could desire. A book for people who enjoy learning.

This is an interesting look at the facts behind the reconstruction of Hnefatafl and other tafl games. It tells you where they got the ideas for the rules. Some from Norse sagas, others from explorer diaries. It explains the debates and controversies. At the end of each game analysis, he give a summery of the best guess. He leaves you with the understanding that the game is still evolving and new facts are being found. After reading it, I found I had a better understanding of the tafl games in general and a better idea of how to adjust an asymmetrical game to make it a more equal competition. I recommend the book to anyone who likes a good, intellectual mystery.

Very complete for a small treatise, covers everything known about this great game.

Ibid.

E' sicuramente il piu' completo dei libri dedicati a questo antico gioco, sono ricostruite diversi varianti, ottima anche la parte dedicata alla bibliografia.