Hnefatafl is the best-known member of the tafl family of asymmetric Viking strategy games. One side defends the king and tries to escape. The other side attacks and tries to trap him.
King's Table lets you learn the rules, compare variants, and then jump straight into a browser game with no download required.
Tafl is a family of Nordic board games played before chess became dominant in Europe. The central idea is asymmetry: attackers usually outnumber defenders, and each side has a different victory condition.
Pieces move horizontally or vertically across any number of empty squares. They do not jump other pieces.
A piece is usually captured when it is trapped between two hostile anchors in a straight line. Different rule sets treat the throne, corners, and the king a little differently.
A modern competitive ruleset where the king escapes to a corner and is normally captured by surrounding him on four sides.
A sharper ruleset that adds shieldwall captures and more aggressive edge tactics while keeping corner escape.
A related historic variant usually played on a smaller board where the king escapes by reaching the edge.
Once you know the basics, go straight to the game page and play Fetlar Tafl, Copenhagen Tafl, or Tablut in your browser.