How to Play Tablut: Learn the Rules
Tablut is the best documented member of the ancient tafl family, recorded among the Saami people of Lapland by the botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1732. A king and his eight defenders sit at the centre of a 9x9 board, surrounded by sixteen attackers. The king tries to break out to the edge of the board, while the attackers try to surround and capture him.
How to Play Tablut: Learn the Rules
Tablut is the best documented member of the ancient tafl family, recorded among the Saami people of Lapland by the botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1732. A king and his eight defenders sit at the centre of a 9x9 board, surrounded by sixteen attackers. The king tries to break out to the edge of the board, while the attackers try to surround and capture him.
Objective
The two sides have opposite goals. The defenders (the king's side) win if the king reaches any square on the edge of the board. The attackers win if they surround and capture the king before he escapes.
Setup
Tablut is played on a 9x9 board with a special central square called the castle. The king starts on the castle with his eight defenders forming the arms of a cross around him. Sixteen attackers are placed in four groups of four, at the middle of each edge, shaped like a cross with serifs. The attacking side takes the first move.
Gameplay
Every piece moves any number of squares horizontally or vertically, like a rook in chess, and may not jump over other pieces. No piece may stop on the central castle, not even the king once he has left it, though any piece may slide across it when it is empty. A soldier is captured when an enemy traps it between two enemy pieces on opposite sides, or between an enemy and the empty castle. The king may team up with a defender to capture attackers.
Winning
The defenders win the moment the king reaches any edge square. The king is captured as an ordinary piece (between two attackers) when out in the open, but he needs three attackers when standing beside the castle (the castle forms the fourth wall) and four attackers when sitting on the castle itself. The game is drawn if a position repeats, if the player to move has no legal move, or by agreement.
Objective
The two sides have opposite goals. The defenders (the king's side) win if the king reaches any square on the edge of the board. The attackers win if they surround and capture the king before he escapes.
Setup
Tablut is played on a 9x9 board with a special central square called the castle. The king starts on the castle with his eight defenders forming the arms of a cross around him. Sixteen attackers are placed in four groups of four, at the middle of each edge, shaped like a cross with serifs. The attacking side takes the first move.
Gameplay
Every piece moves any number of squares horizontally or vertically, like a rook in chess, and may not jump over other pieces. No piece may stop on the central castle, not even the king once he has left it, though any piece may slide across it when it is empty. A soldier is captured when an enemy traps it between two enemy pieces on opposite sides, or between an enemy and the empty castle. The king may team up with a defender to capture attackers.
Winning
The defenders win the moment the king reaches any edge square. The king is captured as an ordinary piece (between two attackers) when out in the open, but he needs three attackers when standing beside the castle (the castle forms the fourth wall) and four attackers when sitting on the castle itself. The game is drawn if a position repeats, if the player to move has no legal move, or by agreement.
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