Tablut lernen: Regeln

Tablut is a historical Nordic strategy game from the Hnefatafl family, with asymmetric forces and objectives. One player defends the King and tries to escort him to safety, while the other player commands a larger army trying to capture the King.

Played on a 9x9 board. The King starts in the center (throne). 8 defenders surround the King. 16 attackers are arranged on the four edges. Only the King can occupy the throne and corners.

1. 01Attackers (dark pieces) move first.
2. 02All pieces move like a Rook in chess - any number of squares orthogonally.
3. 03Pieces cannot jump over other pieces or pass through the throne (center square).
4. 04Regular pieces are captured by being sandwiched between two enemy pieces (custodial capture).
5. 05The throne and corners act as enemy pieces for capture purposes.
6. 06The King is captured when surrounded on all four sides (or three sides against the throne). Away from the throne, the board edge and the corners count as sides too.
7. 07Only the King may land on the corner squares or return to the throne.
8. 08The King wins immediately upon reaching any corner.

Defenders win if the King reaches any corner. Attackers win by surrounding the King on all four sides. If the King is next to the throne, he must be surrounded on all three open sides plus the throne; elsewhere the board edge and the corners count as sides. If the player to move has no legal move, the game is a draw.

Hnefatafl games were played by Vikings and other Nordic peoples from around 400 CE until chess replaced them in the medieval period. Tablut was documented by Carl Linnaeus during his 1732 expedition to Lapland.