Odin’s
Viking Chess
Hnefatafl
Hnefatafl, the Viking board game, on twelve historical boards.
One purchase: no ads, no tracking, no in-app purchases.
Get Odin’s Viking Chess on the App Store
iPhone · iPad · Apple TV · Mac
Odin’s Viking Chess brings you Hnefatafl, the Viking board game, on twelve historical boards. One side besieges; the other guards a king who must reach the edge of the world. Play across the room or across the world: settle in for a live match, take turns when you have a moment, or share a screen for a friendly rivalry.
Play a friend live, by turn, or in the same room.
Twelve boards, one game
Every piece moves like a rook. Capture by trapping a piece between two of yours. The attackers win by surrounding the king; the defenders win when the king escapes. What changes from board to board is the size, where the king must reach, and how he is taken.
Fetlar
11×11 · the king escapes to a corner
The modern standard, 11×11, the king escapes to a corner.
Copenhagen
11×11 · the king escapes to a corner
Fetlar with the shieldwall, the edge fort and the encirclement — the online standard.
Brandub
7×7 · the king escapes to a corner
The quickest board, 7×7, from the Irish poems.
Tablut
9×9 · the king escapes to any edge
The Sámi game Linnaeus recorded in 1732, escape at any edge.
Sea Battle
9×9 · the king escapes to any edge
No special squares, the defenders move first, the cargo ship runs for the edge.
Ealdfæder
9×9 · the king escapes to a corner
The defenders start in a square and three attackers take the king at the edge.
Tawlbwrdd 9×9 and 11×11
9×9 and 11×11 · the king escapes to any edge
The Welsh game, a king captured like any piece.
York
11×11 · the king escapes to any edge
The museum’s rules — a weaponless king and an encirclement win.
Imperial Contest
9×9 · the king escapes to any edge
A Victorian parlour game with a die for the first move.
Hnefatafl 13×13
13×13 · the king escapes to a corner
Fetlar’s rules on a wider board.
Alea Evangelii
19×19 · the king escapes to a corner
The vast Anglo-Saxon board, 19×19, 73 pieces and sixteen corner squares.
House Rules let you change a board’s rules for your own games: single-step movement, an armed or unarmed king, a hostile throne, and more.
Play together, your way
Live online
Challenge a friend and trade moves in real time.
Turn-based online
Play at your own pace without being online together.
Nearby
Connect device to device and play without a Game Center account.
Pass & Play
Share one screen and take turns.
Sides are drawn by a coin toss for the first game and swap with every rematch, so nobody keeps the easier seat.
iPhone & iPad
Online matches use Game Center. Turn notifications help you keep up, and a Home Screen widget on iPhone and iPad shows when you have moves waiting.
Apple TV
Online matches use Game Center, and turn notifications help you keep up.
Mac
Online matches use Game Center, and turn notifications help you keep up.
Find your challenge
Play solo as the attackers or the defenders against four computer strengths: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert. Learn a new board at your own pace, then raise the difficulty when you’re ready.
Want a nudge? The coach suggests a move and explains it in the king’s terms — a line to escape, a ring tightening, a capture waiting. Undo during local play lets you try another approach, and every board includes a How to Play guide with its history.
Make your progress count
Earn XP, climb the ranks from Wanderer to Grand King, and pursue 30 achievements and 18 Game Center leaderboards, including a leaderboard for each board. Bigger boards earn more.
Local games save automatically, so you can take a break and return to an unfinished game.
A place at the board
Carved sigils on oak, a rune band around the frame, and Longhouse gold bring the world of Odin’s Checkers to Hnefatafl. Play on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac, with support for 50 languages, VoiceOver, and Dynamic Type.
One purchase. No in-app purchases, no third-party ads, and no tracking.
iOS · iPadOS · tvOS · macOS
More from Odin’s
Made by the team behind Odin’s Checkers, Squared², and Odin’s Tic-Tac-Toe. The only promotions you’ll see are for our own games.
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Explore 12 traditions, with four AI strengths for your next solo challenge.
Squared²
Close a box. Keep your turn. Challenge friends live, play at your own pace, or gather four around one screen.
Choose a board. Choose a side. See who wants the rematch.
Get Odin’s Viking Chess on the App Store →
Support · Privacy · Levels & achievements
Hollender Consulting, LLC · sean@hollender-consulting.com