Viking Chess Set Guide: What to Buy or Make
A Viking chess set is a hnefatafl set: a square board with an odd number of squares per side, one king, a small army of defenders, and an attacking army twice that size. For most people the right buy is a 11×11 board with 24 attackers, 12 defenders, and a king, because that’s the size of Copenhagen Hnefatafl, the modern standard.
Which board size to get
The board decides which games you can play, so pick the variant first and the set second.
- 11×11: Copenhagen Hnefatafl, the rules tournaments use, and the Welsh game Tawlbwrdd. Games run long enough to have a real opening and endgame.
- 9×9: Tablut, the Sámi version Carl Linnaeus wrote down in 1732. Games are shorter, and the king can escape to any edge square.
- 7×7: Brandubh, the small Irish game. A game takes minutes, and the board fits on a lap.
If you only buy one, buy the 11×11. It covers the standard game, and its pieces are enough for the smaller variants too.
The most useful boards go one step further. Some 11×11 boards also mark a 9×9 and a 7×7 area inside the grid, usually with a different line or dot pattern, so you can play all three sizes without buying three boards. A reversible board (one size on each face) does the same job. Either kind is worth a look if you plan to teach new players on Brandubh before moving them up. The tafl games overview compares how each size plays.
Check the marked squares
Product photos usually show enough to check this before you buy. Every tafl board needs a marked center square, the throne, where the king starts. Boards for corner-escape games like Copenhagen and Brandubh also mark the four corners, because those are the king’s goal and only he may stand on them. In edge-escape games like Tablut and Tawlbwrdd, the corners are ordinary squares. A board with marked corners still works for those games; you just ignore the marks.
Some boards also mark where each army starts. That helps at setup, but only if the pattern matches the variant you play. Copenhagen and Tawlbwrdd both use a 11×11 board, but their starting layouts differ, so a board printed with Copenhagen start squares will mislead you in a Tawlbwrdd game. The setup guide shows every starting position, and the board guide explains what each special square does.
Square colors don’t matter. Tafl needs no checkering, and a plain grid plays the same.
Count the pieces
Before buying, count what’s in the box against what the game needs:
| Board | Attackers | Defenders | King | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copenhagen, 11×11 | 24 | 12 | 1 | 37 |
| Tablut, 9×9 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 25 |
| Brandubh, 7×7 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
The attackers always outnumber the defenders two to one. A set with equal armies isn’t a tafl set, whatever the listing says. The pieces guide covers the three piece types and the Viking Age originals.
The king has to stand out
Check this in the photos too. You should be able to spot the king from across the table in a crowded middle game. A taller piece or a clearly different shape does the job. Some sets carve every piece as a little Viking warrior, and they look great on a shelf, but if the king is only a slightly fancier warrior you’ll lose him in the crowd. Viking Age players had the same idea: grave finds show kings marked out by size, material, or a knob on top, with the soldiers left plain.
By convention the attackers are dark and the defenders light. Nothing in the rules requires it, but diagrams and online boards follow it, so a matching set makes learning easier.
Materials and what they trade off
- Wood is the common choice. It’s light and quiet on the table.
- Stone looks good and the pieces stay put, but it’s heavy and chips if dropped.
- Resin allows detailed carved figures. Check that the bases are wide enough that tall pieces don’t tip.
- Cloth or leather roll-up boards pack flat for travel. Pair them with flat, wide pieces, since a soft surface is never quite level.
Whatever the material, check that each piece fits inside one square with a little room around it. Crowded squares make captures hard to read.
Viking chess set or Kubb set?
Search for “Viking chess set” and some of the results will be Kubb, a Swedish lawn game of throwing wooden batons at wooden blocks. If the listing shows a long box of batons and blocks and no board, it’s Kubb. The Viking chess vs Kubb page explains the difference.
Cheap and free options
You don’t need to buy anything to start. Print a board and use coins for pieces, or borrow checkers: one checkers set covers Brandubh, and stacking two checkers makes a good king. Two checkers sets cover Copenhagen. A DIY board is a weekend job: rule a grid on plywood, cardboard, or cloth, mark the throne and corners, and you’re set. Medieval players did much the same, scratching grids into wood and benches.
Or skip the table entirely and play free online while you decide which set to get.
FAQ
Can I use a chess set to play hnefatafl?
Only partly. A chess set has 16 pieces per color, 32 in all. Copenhagen needs 24 attackers, more than one color provides, and 37 pieces overall. Tablut’s 16 attackers fit one chess color, with 8 pawns and a king from the other side as the defense. The bigger problem is the board: 8x8 has no center square. You can play Brandubh on a chessboard by ignoring one row and one column, or put chess pieces on a printed board.
What size board should I buy?
A 11×11 board, ideally one that also marks a 9×9 and 7×7 area or has a smaller board on the back. The 11×11 size plays the modern standard game, and its pieces cover every smaller variant.
Does a Viking chess set need a checkered board?
No. Tafl uses a plain grid, and the colors of the squares have no effect on play. Only the throne and, for corner-escape games, the corners need to be marked.