Setup
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Hnefatafl was a popular game in medieval Scandinavia.
Rules
The game is played on a 11 square by 11 square board.
The Attacker Side (Black) starts with 24 stones.
The Defender Side (White) starts with 13 playing pieces. The central piece is called the King.
- The attackers take the first move, after the players make alternate moves
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All stones can move along any adjoining orthogonal (as rook in chess) as far as desired, but can neither capture nor
pass obstructing pieces of any variety.
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An opponent's piece is captured when a player's piece finishes its move such that it orthogonally
sandwiches the opponent's piece between itself and another friendly
piece.
- The King can take part in captures
- To capture the King:
- The king must surround it on all four sides.
- it is possible for Black to capture the King by surrounding it on three sides if on the fourth side the
adjacent square is the center.
- by three soldiers and a board edge (This rule is valid only in some variants)
- To win the game Attacker must capture the King.
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There are few variants
- To win the game White must move the King to the perimeter of the board.
- The white wins when the King reach the corner square.
- If a player has no further move than player loses the game.
- The five marked squares in the centre and corners of the board are special, and only the king may land on them. Other pieces may pass over the central square in the course of their move, as long as they do not land there.
- Stones may not be captured on their own turn (for example a white piece may move between two black pieces without being killed).
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