![]() |
Tablut is part of the Tafl family of games, played in Northern Europe from around 400 AD
Tablut is perhaps the best documented version of these types of games.
In 1732, Carolus Linnaeus recorded the rules and a drawing of the board in his journal while travelling through the area. It is played on a 9x9 board.
Black's goal is to move the king to one of the 4 edges (version 1 and 2) or to one of the 4 dark corner squares (version 3).
In version 1 and 3, white's goal is to capture the king, surrounding him from all four sides and capture him. The second possibility is that black pieces surround the king from three sides and the centre square (throne) stands on the fourth side
(since nobody, including the king, can move to the throne). In version 3, the king can be captured by 3 pieces only, if he's standing on an edge
In version 2, the king is captured like a 'simple' rook.
Start position :
How to move pieces :
All pieces (including the king) can move horizontally or vertically any number of spaces (like a chess rook). They cannot move into a space occupied by any piece, friendly or hostile.
According to the version you play on the site, certain rules apply.
Version 1 : No pieces can move onto the center square.
Version 2 and 3 : No pieces can move onto the center square. Besides, the rook cannot move on the 4 corners.
How to capture pieces :
An enemy rook can be captured by surrounding it on either side between two of your pieces
In version 1 , the king cannot participate in captures, in version 2, and 3, the king can capture if he's the moving piece.
Only one piece can be captured in a given direction (because your pieces must be on the two squares immediately next to the enemy piece),
but you can capture in multiple directions at once (theoretically, up to 4 pieces at once).
An enemy piece can move between two of your pieces and not be captured.
You only capture pieces when you surround an enemy piece on that turn.
The image below shows how white captures 2 black rooks by playing g6 to g7.
ATTENTION, in version 3, the 4 corners are called hostile. It means you can use them as it it were one of your pieces to capture an opponent piece.
Here is a summary to point the differences between the versions:
Version 1 | Version 2 | Version 3 | ||
King wins at | edge | edge | corner | |
King captured by | 4 opponents | 2 opponents | 4 opponents | |
King can capture? | No | Yes | Yes | |
Rook can go on corners? | Yes | Yes | No |