Trefatafl

Trefatafl is a historic board game with roots in the Welsh tradition, belonging to the larger family of tafl games. These games were popular in Northern Europe during the Viking Age and beyond. Trefatafl is characterized by its asymmetrical setup, where one player defends a king and a small contingent of defenders, while the other player, the attacker, seeks to capture the king.

The board for Trefatafl is typically square, often with a grid of 11x11 squares, though variations exist. The central square, known as the "king's throne," is a crucial point on the board. The king starts in the center, surrounded by his defenders. The attackers, who vastly outnumber the defenders, begin on the edges of the board.

The objective for the attackers is to capture the king by surrounding him on four sides. The defenders' goal is to escort the king to one of the four corner squares of the board, thus achieving victory. Pieces move like a rook in chess, along ranks and files. A capture is made by "sandwiching" an opponent's piece between two of your own pieces or between one of your pieces and the edge of the board.

Trefatafl, like other tafl games, demands strategic thinking and careful planning. The imbalance of forces means that the defenders must play defensively and creatively, using their limited numbers to block and control the board. The attackers, conversely, must coordinate their efforts to corner the king and exploit their numerical advantage. While specific historical accounts of Trefatafl are scarce, its existence is inferred from broader Welsh game traditions and comparisons to similar tafl games found elsewhere.