Copenhagen

What is different here

Copenhagen is what most clubs and most software mean when they say hnefatafl. It takes the plain eleven by eleven game — twenty-four attackers, twelve defenders, a king on the throne, corner escape — and adds three endings that the older codes lack.

The extras exist because tournament play found holes. Without them, a defender could sit in a corner of the board and never be dislodged, and an attacker could refuse to commit for ever. The shieldwall, the edge fort and encirclement give each side a way to convert a grip into a result.

It is the most tested tafl rule set there is, and the fairest starting point if you intend to play rated games here.

• 24 attackers against 12 defenders and the king; attackers move first.
• The king escapes to one of the four corners.
• The king falls only when all four squares around him are held.
• Empty corners and the empty throne are hostile to both sides.
• Extra endings: shieldwall, edge fort, encirclement.

Learn

• Full rulesEverything this rule set does, in full.
• The basicsStart here if you have never played at all.
• LearnA first game, opening ideas and a glossary.
• HistoryWhere this game came from, and what is guesswork.