Abstract: This is the concept document for a game design case
in the Haven project
. The case is for an implementation of the board game Hnefatafl.
Availability: Public
|
Abstract: This is the concept document for a game design case
in the Haven project
. The case is for an implementation of the board game Hnefatafl.
Availability: Public |
Hnefatafl is a boardgame similar to fox and geese. It is player side assymmetric (one player starts in the middle and one along all sides, and players have different objectives), played on a square board. There are several variant rules regarding board layout and initial disposition of the pieces.
The basic application design includes
A 3D client
Player versus player contest
Player versus AI contest
Player versus player versus AI tournament
PvP and PvAI supported off-line - PvP either in rounds on same machine or networked opponents
All modes supported by matching service online
Selectable game variants including different board sizes and start conditions
Matching service to support player ranking
Rules for the basic game
The game is turn based and played on a square board of varying size (basic version for this application is 11x11 squares). Initial positions of players are as in this table - 'X' indicates a defender piece (land man), 'O' indicates an attacker piece (viking), '¤' indicates the attacker's king and the king square. (The 'M' and '.' should be hidden and are there only to keep the table somewhat symmetric).
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O |
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The viking player has the first move
All pieces move horizontally or vertically (only - never diagonally) any number of squares but not past any other piece. Pieces may not jump over other pieces, nor may two piece be in the same square (some old tafl games used pegs for playing pieces and a board consisting of a grid of holes, making it pysically impossible to place two pieces in the same position).
The central square (the board always has an odd number of squares on each side) may only be used or passed by the king and is called the king square.
A piece (other than the king) is eliminated if two opponent pieces are place on opposing sides of it (horizontally or vertically - not diagonally). A piece may move in between two opponent pieces without being eliminated.
More than one piece may be eliminated in the same move.
Eliminated pieces are immediately removed from the board.
The viking king is eliminated by being surrounded by land man pieces on all four sides (horizontally and vertically), or by three land man pieces and the king square.
The objective for the viking player is to move the king piece to one of the squares on the edge of the board.
The objective for the land man player is to eliminate the king.
Alternative rules
Weaponless king: the king piece may not be used to eliminate another piece
Different starting positions: the main variation is to use the central horizontal and vertical axis for the viking pieces instead of as shown above. The land man pieces may also start in slightly varying positions, such as moving the "advance scouts" (the pieces nearer the center of the board in the table above) to the corners of the board (this variant is called the "second board"). The "Irish board" has a different layout, and places the land man pieces in a swastika-like pattern.
Different sizes of the board: the board may be 7x7 (Fithcheall), 9x9 (Tablut), 11x11 (Tawlbwrdd, Hnefatafl), or 13x13 (Tawlbwrdd, Hnefatafl) in the more common variants. 7x7 boards require a differing start layout and/or different numbers of pieces. The Alea Evangelii board has 19x19 squares.
Hala-tafl or Fox and Geese is played on a 7x7 board with the 4 squares nearest each corner not being used, resulting in 33 squares. The fox side has only one piece (the "fox" of course), the geese (or sheep) side has 13 pieces. The fox is placed in the center square of the 3rd row. The geese fill the lowest 3 rows. The rules for this game differ a bit from the other games mentioned with regard to elimination and objectives.
The great board
The great board (king's board) is much larger and has a much more complicated starting layout.
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This is the board that is used in Alea Evangelii
The history of Tafl games is long. See the links section.
Other games in the family and geographical/cultural variations include Hala-tafl, Fox and Geese, Nine men's Morris, the Irish board, Ard-Ri, Tablut, Tawlbwrdd, Fithcheall, Alea Evangelii, and many Hnefatafl variations.
This document is one of a suite of documents written to describe the Haven
project at various levels. The documents are, in order of complexity and
level of specification,
Links to web pages with information related to historic Tafl games:
Hnefatafl experimental reconstruction including lots of historical and archological material and sources
Games related to Tafl, Fox and Geese and Nine men's Morris:
This text was written in its entirety by Olof Ekström. For more information about the author of this page, see Olof Ekström's personal information in the Project Profiles document. Special thanks to Lorena for searching out information when my web skillz weren't up to the task.
Copyright © 2001 Olof Ekström/Extro System. All rights reserved.
Bälinge/Uppsala, Sweden, July-September 2001