The Traditional Board Game Series Leaflet #40: Tawlbwrdd

TAWLBWRDD
FURTHER INFORMATION by Damian Walker
For readers who wish to investigate further, the following books have in-
formation about tawlbwrdd and about related games in the tafl family.
Bell, R. C. Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations, vol. 2,
pp. 43-45. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1979.
Murray, H. J. R. A History of Board-Games Other than Chess, pp. 55-
64. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1952.
Parlett, D. The Oxford History of Board Games, pp. 196-204. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1999.
Copyright © Damian Walker 2011 - http://boardgames.cyningstan.org.uk/

Illustration 5: the starting position for the Board Games at CYNINGSTAN

smaller, earlier game of tawlbwrdd. Traditional Board Game Series
(Second Edition)
4 Leaflet #40
 The Traditional Board Game Series Leaflet #40: Tawlbwrdd The Traditional Board Game Series Leaflet #40: Tawlbwrdd

and Illustration 3. at once by so sur-

INTRODUCTION & HISTORY 2. The attack- rounding them.
Tawlbwrdd was a game played in Tawlbwrdd is a member of the ers make the first 8. It is not
Wales in mediaeval times. It was hnefatafl, or tafl, family of games, move. possible to capture
mentioned in Welsh translations of which place a king with a defence a row of pieces,
Moving the
English romances, and in the Laws force against an attacking force however.
Pieces
of Wales begun by twice their num- Winning the
Welsh king How- ber. The king has 3. In his turn a
Game
ell Dda between to escape this am- player may move a
A.D. 914 and 943 bush, while the at- piece across the 9. The de-
and continually tackers have to try board by any num- fending player
until around 1250. and capture the ber of spaces in a wins the game by
The last men- king. This family straight line, hori- Illustration 3: another alternative starting moving the king to
tion before mod- of games was in- zontally or vertic- layout. any square on the
ern times was in a troduced by Norse ally. edge of the board.
1587 manuscript settlers, raiders 4. A piece may not land on an- 10. The attacking player wins
by Robert ap Ifan, and traders to the other, nor may it leap over a piece. by capturing the king.
now stored in the various lands they 5. The king moves in the same
Variation
National Library Illustration 1: tawlbwrdd set out for play. visited, and tawlb- way as the other pieces.
of Wales. This wrdd is a version Early games mentioned in the laws
Capturing Enemies
document tells us much of what we adopted by the Welsh. of Wales were played with fewer
know about the game. 6. An enemy pieces, presum-
piece is captured ably on a smaller
HOW TO PLAY by surrounding it board. So in addi-
Tawlbwrdd is played on a board of on two opposite tion to the choice
11 squares by 11, with a king and sides, horizontally of 11x11 boards,
twelve defenders against twenty- or vertically, as the game can also
four attackers. shown in Illustra- be played on a 9x9
tion 4. That piece board with a king
Beginning the Game is removed from and eight defend-
1. The king is placed in the the board. ers against sixteen
centre of the board, with his defend- 7. It is pos- attackers, as
ers around him and the attackers at sible to capture shown in Illustra-
the edge of the board, as shown in two or three pieces Illustration 4: captures. The indicated piece tion 5.
Illustration 1. Alternative starting Illustration 2: an alternative layout for the may either move upwards to capture a
pieces in tawlbwrdd, as proposed by R. C. single piece, or leftwards to capture three
layouts are shown in Illustration 2 Bell (see bibliography). white pieces at once.

2 3