Viking Chess rules

Viking Chess is the modern name for Tafl, a family of Norse strategy games. Every version shares the same core: a king and his defenders try to escape a larger force of attackers. The sides are uneven — that asymmetry is the whole game.

The rules every version shares

Pieces move like a rook in chess: any number of empty squares in a straight line, no diagonals, no jumping. You capture an enemy by flanking it between two of your pieces along a row or column. Defenders move first. The defenders win by getting the king to safety; the attackers win by surrounding him.

The three popular versions differ only in board size and how the king escapes: