What is Weaponless king?
Normally the king fights like any defender. He captures an attacker by moving to trap it against another defender or a hostile square, and a defender can capture an attacker by trapping it against him. A weaponless king does neither. He moves, escapes and is captured exactly as in the standard game, but an attacker can stand next to him safely.
The defenders lose their strongest fighter, so the attackers can close in on the king with less risk, and the king's task is only to run.
The table setup also has an Armed king option between the two: the king may capture when he moves but not serve as the far side of a capture, or the other way round.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Tablut | Weaponless king |
|---|---|---|
| The king moving to capture | Standard TablutHe captures an attacker trapped between him and another defender or a hostile square. | Weaponless kingHe captures nothing. |
| The king as the far side of a capture | Standard TablutA defender captures an attacker trapped between itself and the king. | Weaponless kingThe king does not count; an attacker beside him is safe. |
| Boards and other options | Standard TablutEvery board and option in the table setup. | Weaponless kingThe weaponless king works on every board with the standard rules. The Copenhagen rules always arm the king. |
History
No early source says whether the king could take part in captures. The word weaponless appears in a riddle preserved in Hauksbók, a medieval Icelandic manuscript, which seems to describe a tafl game, but it is not clear whether the word refers to the king or to the pieces around him.
The weaponless king played today is a modern rule, one of several changes that tafl players have made to balance the game.