I can play at tafl,
Nine skills I know,
Rarely forget I the runes,
I know of books and smithing,
I know how to slide on skis,
Shoot and row, well enough;
Each of two arts I know,
Harp-playing and speaking poetry.

 --- Earl Rognvaldr Kali

   These were the accomplishments of a noble of Viking Age Scandinavia. Before the introduction of chess in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Scandinavians sharpened their wits by playing a game known as tafl. 

   Tafl in Old Norse means "table," and by the end of the period referred to a variety of board games, such as chess (skak-tafl or "check-table"), backgammon (kvatru-tafl, introduced from the French as quatre), and fox-and- geese (ref-skak, "fox chess"). However, the term tafl was most commonly used to refer to a game known as hnefa-tafl or "King's Table." Hnefatafl was known in Scandinavia before 400 A.D. and was carried by the Vikings to their colonies in Iceland, Greenland, Britain, Ireland and Wales.

   The Hnefatafl (or just tafl) board is marked out with 9 x 9 squares, the central one being distinctive and known as Konakis or throne. Only the king can occupy this square. Usually, one player has eight light-colored warriors and their king; the other has sixteen dark-colored warriors.

   These are essentially the basic rules used in all forms of tafl. Thus:

The king and his men are usually the light pieces and are always outnumbered by the attackers.

The king may not assist in captures.

Usually the king's side moves first.

All moves are orthagonal (the move of the rook in chess).

Pieces may not jump other pieces, nor occupy the same square.

A piece is captured when the opponent moves a man to either side of it in either row or column (no diagonal captures) except for the king, which must be surrounded on all four sides by attackers in order to be captured.

The king's side wins when the king escapes to the edge of the board. The attackers win by capturing the king.