Learn how to play the Viking board game - Hnefatafl

Join us in the Viking Park in Sandefjord, where several boards of Hnefatafl—an ancient Viking strategy game—are available for you to play. Your guide will teach you the rules and strategies of this legendary board game. You’ll find different game boards, including those carved into wooden tables and benches in the park. If you get hooked, you are welcome to return and play again!

Hnefatafl was a highly regarded pastime in Viking society. In the Gokstad burial mound, an oak game board was discovered, revealing that even Viking kings enjoyed board games. This game was widespread in Scandinavia as early as 400 AD and traveled with the Vikings to the lands they conquered. Over the centuries, the rules evolved, but today, we play it purely as a strategy game, as the exact use of the dice has been lost to time.

Versions of Hnefatafl have been unearthed from Ireland in the west to Ukraine in the east. The game is even mentioned in Völuspá, a famous Norse poem recorded by Snorri Sturluson. According to legend, after Ragnarök—the end of the world—the golden game pieces of the gods remained in the grass, untouched by the chaos.

If you truly enjoy the game, you are always welcome to return and play more!