[HN Gopher] Hnefatafl
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Hnefatafl
Author : robin_reala
Score : 91 points
Date : 2023-01-03 19:31 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (en.wikipedia.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (en.wikipedia.org)
| legohead wrote:
| One of these - Tablut - is featured in the video game Mount &
| Blade 2: Bannerlord. You can play against NPCs.
| boredhedgehog wrote:
| There was a DOS version (https://www.mobygames.com/game/kings-
| table-the-legend-of-rag...) that added legendary pieces with
| special powers and unique moves. Too bad that mode didn't catch
| on.
| Apocryphon wrote:
| Saw a neat implementation of this game in Flutter:
|
| https://medium.com/@eibaan_54644/hnefatafl-for-flutter-42c05...
| hprotagonist wrote:
| Inspired "Thud" in discworld:
|
| https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Thud_(game)
| gweinberg wrote:
| This was one of the free games that came with a NeXT pizza box.
| [deleted]
| sedatk wrote:
| Named by a cat walking over the keyboard.
| [deleted]
| wott wrote:
| It's funny that this pops up now, as I discovered the existence
| of the game(s) only 2 weeks ago, and made a rough computer
| version for myself.
|
| A good site that presents many possible rule variants and their
| balance: http://aagenielsen.dk/overview.php
| svennidal wrote:
| I'm Icelandic and I always thought that playing Hnefatafl was a
| expression for fighting, since it directly translates to "Fist
| Chess"
| retrofuturism wrote:
| I thought it was Chess Boxing
| (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing)
| acheron wrote:
| I learned about tafl from a program called "Zillions of Games"
| which was a board game playing system from the early 00s. Had a
| custom rules engine where you could teach it to play any kind of
| board game with perfect information, and all kinds of current and
| historical games were implemented, including tafl.
|
| Apparently it was abandoned in 2005 or so but somebody is trying
| to make an updated version: https://github.com/david-
| pfx/AmzPlayer
| alin23 wrote:
| Oh I knew the word seemed familiar. I first heard about it in
| this scrapwood challenge about making a Hnefatafl board with
| piece set: https://youtu.be/iiHlAa131NI?t=1022
| fsckboy wrote:
| when I first saw that headline, before clicking I spent a couple
| minutes trying to complete the phrase "___ ___ ___ ___ ___ thing
| as free lunch"
|
| thanks, heinlein
| jakzurr wrote:
| Yep! Plus, the first two words must be Hacker News.
| fit2rule wrote:
| [dead]
| isoprophlex wrote:
| Absolutely fascinating wiki link, thanks!
|
| I've found this video pretty enlightening to quickly grok the
| goal and tactics of one of the Tafl games:
|
| https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=axzd_MM1rJ0
| aidenn0 wrote:
| I love when miscommunication creates an entirely new game;
| gridiron football (e.g. Canadian and American Football) was
| created from Rugby due to scrums being unfair in North America,
| so a system of downs was introduced.
| paranoidxprod wrote:
| What do you mean by scrums being unfair? If you have any
| sources you'd recommend on this, it sounds interesting.
| bovermyer wrote:
| Basically, Walter Camp thought scrums hid the ball.
|
| > English players form solid masses of men in a scrummage and
| engage in a desperate kicking and pushing match until the
| ball pops out unexpectedly somewhere, leaving the struggling
| mass ignorant of its whereabouts, still kicking blindly where
| they think the ball may be.
|
| Further reading: http://www.tony-
| collins.org/rugbyreloaded/2015/6/16/the-walt...
| msoucy wrote:
| This amuses me way more than it should. I'm just picturing
| a scrummage getting so chaotic that nobody notices for a
| good minute.
| scubbo wrote:
| Replying to remind myself to check back on this - I'm also
| interested!
| codetrotter wrote:
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| ttul wrote:
| My grandparents bought me this game at the Viking Museum in York,
| England back in the early 1990s. It sat on a shelf for 30 years
| and then I took it out with my 10yo son last summer and actually
| played the game. It's really fun! Reminds me of Go.
| wpietri wrote:
| I would be very interested to hear from actual tafl players. The
| asymmetry makes it look very interesting.
| wardedVibe wrote:
| Played a fair amount as a kid. It's fun, but you definitely
| need to play with folks who don't care too much about losing,
| as the difficulty for the capturing team is quite a bit higher
| than the running side. Works best if you can play at least two
| games, flipping who's playing which side.
| NoboruWataya wrote:
| I play _very_ casually, mostly on the Android app. There is
| also http://aagenielsen.dk/hnefatafl_online.php which seems to
| have the most "serious" community but I think the UI might be
| older than the game itself.
|
| There are many different variants around, with different levels
| of balance. When I started playing I picked a variant and
| thought I would try to "specialise" in that one, but to be
| honest there aren't enough players around to do that, so you
| tend to just play whatever variant you can get a game in.
|
| Generally in a tournament each set of opponents would play each
| other twice, once as each side. I'm not sure about
| aagenielsen.dk, but the way it works on the Android app is that
| if each player wins one game, the ultimate winner is the one
| who won in fewer turns. I don't think that's a great system but
| I guess it's the best one there is for elimination-style
| tournaments.
|
| Most things I've read suggest that the defenders (white)
| generally have an advantage, but personally I seem to play
| better as attacker (black). Possibly just a sign that I am a
| novice!
| CyanBird wrote:
| It really is
|
| There are a couple games online (web games) taht can be played
| against a very simple ai, and it is quite the blast
|
| There are some tlaf games on steam as well that also have got
| functional ai
| timthorn wrote:
| I got introduced to it at the "World Hnefatafl Championships"
| that happened to be on when I once visited Sutton Hoo. That
| sounds grander than it was...
|
| Game is quick to learn but good fun. Gave my brother in law a
| set this Christmas.
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(page generated 2023-01-03 23:00 UTC)