Ard Rí rules
Parlett's layout on a 7×7 board · 7×7
Ard Rí is Irish for "High King". This version uses the layout from David Parlett's Oxford History of Board Games: twenty-five pieces on 49 squares, a weak King in a square of eight defenders against sixteen attackers.
Only the King may stop on the Throne. Two attackers take him, three beside the Throne, four on it, and he wins on any edge square.
There's no evidence this game is historical, and Damian Walker has shown that with pieces moving like rooks the attackers can force a win. One-Step Ard Rí is the usual fix.
Also known as: Ard Ri, High King, Scottish tafl.
At a glance
| Board | 7×7 |
|---|---|
| Pieces | 16 attackers against 8 defenders and a King |
| King | Weak: two attackers can capture him |
| King escapes to | Any edge square |
| First move | Attackers |
| Repeated position | A loss for the defenders |
The core rules
Every tafl game builds on the rules below. Where the table above says otherwise, the table is right for Ard Rí.
- Two sides. The attackers surround the board and outnumber their enemy. Their goal is to capture the King. The defenders are outnumbered but guard the King and must escort him to safety.
- The board. A square grid. The centre square is the Throne, where the King begins. The four corners are escape squares. Only the King may stand on either.
- Movement. Every piece moves like a rook in chess: any number of squares in a straight line, with no diagonals and no jumping. Other pieces may pass through the empty Throne, but corners block them.
- Capture. Sandwich an enemy piece between two of your own on a straight line and it is removed. Moving into a sandwich yourself is safe; the trap only springs when you close it. An empty corner or the empty Throne can take the place of one of the two pieces.
- Capturing the King. In most variants the King must be sealed on all four sides, by attackers or by the empty Throne. In the "weak King" variants two attackers are enough.
- Winning. The defenders win when the King reaches an escape square: a corner, or any edge square in the edge-escape variants. The attackers win by capturing the King, or by encircling every defender so none can reach the edge. A side with no legal move loses, and repeating a position three times ends the game.
Similar games
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