TAFL
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THE SKALD
THE VIKING GAME OF KINGS · DEAD FOR 800 YEARS
· THE KING'S TABLE
BEFORE CHESS, THERE WAS TAFL.
Seven hundred years the North played this across the king's table. Then chess buried it, around 1200 AD. Tonight the board is set again, and the first grandmasters of the new age have not been crowned.
WORLDTAFL · THE KING'S TABLE, RETURNED
A SIEGE IN THE OLD NORTH · YEAR 900
A king sits besieged upon his throne. His guard of twelve stands in bone. The horde, twice their number and dressed in coal, closes from all four shores. The horde strikes first.
THE FLANKING. Every piece slides like a rook, along rows and columns. Trap a foe between two of yours and he falls. Stepping into a trap yourself is safe.
THE ESCAPE. The gold towers at the four corners are sanctuary. If the king reaches any tower, the guard wins. Only the king may enter a tower or rest on the throne.
THE TAKING. The king falls only when walled on all four sides (his own throne can betray him as one wall). Take him, and the horde wins.
THREE TABLES, ONE LAW. Learn on Brandubh, the small 7×7 raid board, where the young king falls between just two spears. Prove yourself on Tablut, 9×9. Then take the full King's Table, 11×11. Your rating is kept for each table.
FULL TIME
VICTORY
UNRATED. UNDO WAS USED
KING ESCAPED
THE SKALD TEACHES · BEYOND THE TRIALS
Nine short lessons in three arts: how wars open, how they end, and how masters choose. The first lesson of each art is free. TAFL GOLD opens the rest.
THE TRIALS ARE DONE · THE HALL OF NAMES
The skalds keep no songs for the nameless.
THE BOT HALL
YOUR OPPONENT
THE BOARD
The elders weigh you, find the nearest foe, and set the board to match your standing. Sides fall by coin. You bring only your game.
YOUR STANDING
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YOUR SAGA
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YOUR NAME · SHOWN TO OPPONENTS
TELLING
THE RAVENS · WHICH WORDS MAY FLY
THE LAUNCH LETTER: no roost on file. One email, one letter, the day the store app lands.
THE DAY'S RIDDLES ARE ANSWERED
STREAK 1
Post your mark where your people gather. Every mark is a door someone walks through. No answers are spoiled.
THE VIKING GAME OF KINGS · BURIED 800 YEARS
BEFORE CHESS, THERE WAS TAFL.
One king. His last twelve shields. A horde at every shore. You can learn it in two minutes. Mastering it will take the rest of your life.
THE READING
The Skald reads your saga at war-speed…
The marks, plainly: MASTERSTROKE a brilliant find, the one move far better than the rest. TRUE the best move. SOUND good enough. LOOSE gave a little ground. MISSTEP gave real ground. BLUNDER handed the battle to the foe.
THE HALL OF NAMES · THE FIRST AGE
THE GAME SLEPT 800 YEARS. THESE ARE THE FIRST NAMES OF ITS NEW AGE.
Your T-Score is one rating across all three boards. It rises when you beat strong opponents, and clean play counts for more than lucky wins. Play 3 rated games and you are PROVEN, with a rank and a number on this wall.
THE RANKS, LOW TO HIGH: KARL · DRENG · GESTIR · HIRDMANN · BERSERKER · THEGN · STALLARI · SKEPPARE · HERSIR · JARL · KONUNGR. There is no rank of thrall: whoever takes the board is free. READ THE FULL LEGEND ›
THE WARBAND
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FOUND A WARBAND
A warband is your table of friends: one roster, one ladder, one link to invite. Warriors join only through your invite link.
ITS NAME
THE SKALD'S FAVOR · NOT YET GIVEN
✦ ONLY ONE HUNDRED WILL EVER BE CUT FOR THE FIRST AGE. NOT ONE MORE.
The table stays free forever: every board, every battle, the ladder, your warband, the trials. The Skald asks nothing for the game itself. But the deeper songs are held for those who keep him singing.
WHAT THE GOLDEN RUNE UNLOCKS
ONE LINE OF THE DEEP SONG · A REAL READING
Move 14. You sent the north guard chasing a spear, and the corner road opened behind him. The king had e7 that turn: three moves to the edge, nothing in the way. The deep reading names the move you feared, and shows why the fear was wrong.
Raise your hand to claim a place among them. A raven will find you the day the runes are cut. You are joining a list, not a purchase: nothing is asked of you today, and nothing is charged.
ENTER THE ARENA
One name, one rating, on any device. Sign in and every online battle counts.
This is another app's built-in browser, and Google will not open its gate inside one. Sign in with email below, or open worldtafl.com in your real browser.
OR WITH EMAIL
By signing in you accept the Law of the Hall (terms) and the Skald's Oath (privacy policy). You must be 13 or older (16 in parts of the EU).
THE CHALLENGE IS FORGED
Send this link to anyone alive. The first to open it takes the other side. Walk away whenever you like. The table holds your battle, and waits.
THE HALL IS YOUNG
Your challenge is posted, and this is how tafl is fought here: battles span days, not minutes. The table holds for three days, the first soul to answer takes the other side, and a raven calls you the moment they move. You lose nothing by walking away, so spend the wait getting better.
SHALL A RAVEN FIND YOU?
Battles here can span days. Say the word and a raven will find you the moment a challenger sits at your table, or when it is your move. No letters, no noise. Only the raven, only when it matters.
THE ASSEMBLY OF THE FIRST AGE · EVERY SATURDAY 19:00 UTC
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SEND WORD TO THE MAKERS
Found something broken? Have a better idea? A raven carries your word straight to the ones who forge this hall. Every word is read.
THE WAR TABLE · EVERY BATTLE YOU HOLD
A warrior may hold many tables at once. The hall keeps each one, and the raven tells you when a move is yours.
THE SKALD ASKS · ONCE, AND NEVER AGAIN
Answer true. One tap, and the question never returns.
YOUR MOVE, BY EMAIL
Battles here can span days. When an opponent moves and you are away, an email brings you back to the board.
You would get exactly two kinds: your opponent is waiting on you, and the Saturday tournament is starting. No news, no offers. Every email has a one-tap unsubscribe that deletes your address.
CARVE THE HALL INTO YOUR STONE · GET THE APP
Set the king's table on your home screen. It opens as its own hall, without a browser between you and the board, and the ravens can find you there.
TAFL is forged by one smith. Enough raised hands bring the store apps sooner, and yours is now counted. Leave an email and a single raven flies to you the day they land. Nothing else is ever sent to it.
THE HERALD SPEAKS
THE RECORD
TAP ANY MOVE TO WATCH THE BATTLE FROM THERE