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Hnefatafl is the tafl game of the Vikings, carried by them from Scandinavia to Britain, Ireland, Iceland and beyond, and played until chess arrived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. No rules from that age survive; the game was reconstructed in modern times from a Sámi cousin, Tablut, whose rules the botanist Carl Linnaeus jotted down on his journey through Lapland in 1732.
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This table plays Copenhagen, the modern tournament ruleset, on the eleven-by-eleven board, and Tablut on the nine-by-nine one, with the older board showing its age. The rules it follows are on the rules page. The game is in the public domain; the board and pieces here are drawn, not borrowed.
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It is free and keeps no accounts. A game between people lives on a small server as an append-only ledger of moves, so it can be replayed from its first move, and each player is shown only what the rules let them see.
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Hnefatafl is the tafl game of the Vikings, carried by them from Scandinavia to Britain, Ireland, Iceland and beyond, and played until chess arrived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. No rules from that age survive. The game was reconstructed in modern times from a Sámi cousin, Tablut, whose rules the botanist Carl Linnaeus jotted down on his journey through Lapland in 1732.
+
This table plays Copenhagen, the modern tournament ruleset, on the eleven-by-eleven board, and Tablut on the nine-by-nine one, with the older board showing its age. The rules it follows are on the rules page. The game is in the public domain, and the board and pieces here were drawn for this site.
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It is free and keeps no accounts. A game between people lives on a small server as an append-only ledger of moves, so it can be replayed from its first move.
- The games of Kestrel's Hall are free and will stay free. They run on small servers that cost a few dollars a month; anyone who wants to chip in toward the hosting can at
- ko-fi.com/kestrelsnest. Nothing is unlocked by it and nothing is withheld without it.
+ The games of Kestrel's Hall are free and will stay free. They run on small servers that cost a few dollars a month, and anyone who wants to chip in toward the hosting can do so at
+ ko-fi.com/kestrelsnest. Every game stays whole either way.
- Hnefatafl belongs to everyone; it is a thousand years old.
+ Hnefatafl belongs to everyone. It is more than a thousand years old.
{/snippet}
{#snippet aboutWord()}
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A rule read wrong, a bug, a game you would like to tell of: write to eric@ericwagoner.com, @kestrelsnest.social on Bluesky, or @eric@toots.kestrelsnest.social on Mastodon. The keeper of this hall roosts at kestrelsnest.social.
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If a rule reads wrong, something breaks, or you have a game to tell of, write to eric@ericwagoner.com, @kestrelsnest.social on Bluesky, or @eric@toots.kestrelsnest.social on Mastodon. The keeper of this hall roosts at kestrelsnest.social.
{hostName} is gathering players. Sit down above, or watch from the gallery until the game begins.
{:else}
- The table is full. You watch from the Peanut Gallery; the game begins when {hostName} says.
+ The table is full, so you watch from the Peanut Gallery. The game begins when {hostName} says.
{/if}
{:else}
A rematch of table {v.rematchOf}: the same company, seats held for those not yet back.
+ This is a rematch of table {v.rematchOf}, with seats held for those not yet back.
{/if}
{#if !room.spectating}
{v.keeper} has been called to the table by {room.nameOf(v.challenge.by)}.{#if keeperHour} It is {keeperHour} there.{/if} A seat is held: if they can come now they will take it; if they are asleep or away they will leave a word below when they can. Meanwhile the table is yours: seat a housecarl, invite a friend, or open another game in a new tab and play on. This table keeps its place in your hall until you come back.
+ {v.keeper} has been called to the table by {room.nameOf(v.challenge.by)}.{#if keeperHour} It is {keeperHour} there.{/if} A seat is held for them. If they can come now, they will take it. If they are asleep or away, they will leave a word below when they can. In the meantime you can seat a housecarl, invite a friend, or play another game in a new tab. This table keeps its place in your hall until you come back.
{/if}
{/if}
{#if room.error}