Fetlar Hnefatafl rules
The Shetland tournament ruleset · 11×11
Fetlar takes its name from the Shetland island where its rules were first played in tournaments. It uses the same board and pieces as Copenhagen.
There is no shieldwall, so captures always come one at a time, and no exit forts. A position repeated three times is a draw. A King left without a single defender can be captured even on the edge.
The King is strong and escapes to a corner.
Also known as: Fetlar rules, Fetlar tafl.
At a glance
| Board | 11×11 |
|---|---|
| Pieces | 24 attackers against 12 defenders and a King |
| King | Strong: he must be surrounded on all four sides |
| King escapes to | A corner |
| First move | Attackers |
| Repeated position | A draw |
The core rules
Every tafl game builds on the rules below. Where the table above says otherwise, the table is right for Fetlar Hnefatafl.
- 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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