Making a Medieval Travel Game-Board

Gwen verch David

Considering the similarity of many medieval gameboards, and the frequent use of interchangeable pieces, I decided to attempt a portable set of games that I could bring to events. I did not attempt to copy a period item, or even make sure all the games I included were from the same period. But it’s worth noting that we have several archaeological examples of multi-purpose gameboards, so the basic principle is plausibly period.1 After considerable experimentation with layouts, I decided on a reversible pouch with gameboards on all four faces, allowing for the following games:

Tafl Games (7x7, 9x9, 11x11)

While the archaeological evidence for tafl games is often difficult to distinguish from other board games, we have sufficient cause to believe games in the tafl family were played in Scandinavia and the British Isles from at least the 9th century, and possibly much earlier, with multiple variants known in each region.2 Historical evidence for games in the tafl family includes 10th century Saxon manuscripts, 13th-14th century Icelandic sagas, mid-to-late medieval Irish poetry, 13th century Welsh law books, and a remarkably complete description of ‘Tawl-bwrdd’ in a 1587 manuscript by Robert ap Ifan.3 Our knowledge of the medieval rules for games in the tafl family is partial, and many of the details have been extrapolated back from a 1732 description of the Finnish ‘Tablut’, but we have enough information for a plausible reconstruction and variations.

Morris Games (Six Men’s, Nine Men’s, and Twelve Men’s Morris)

Morris games are extremely old, with the earliest recognisable Morris boards dating back to ancient Egypt, and unlike many board games, were popular among both commoners and the nobility.4 Several variations were known, with and without dice, and using different boards and numbers of pieces – I have based my instructions on the descriptions in Endrei & Zolnay’s book Fun and Games in Old Europe.5

1 14th century chess/backgammon: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/46971616th century chess/goose game: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/20261216th century chess/backgammon: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/19065116th century chess/unknown game: https://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/60285.html16th century chess/morris/backgammon: https://collections.lacma.org/node/214858 16th century chess/mill/trick-track: http://www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de/index.php?id=5472 Sten Helmfrid, Hnefatafl – The Strategic Board Game of the Vikings, http://hem.bredband.net/b512479/Hnefatafl_by_Sten_Helmfrid.pdf, pp.11-13.3 Helmfrid, Hnefatafl, pp. 5, 7-9, 11.4 Endrei & Zolnay, Fun and Games in Old Europe, p.67.5 Endrei & Zolnay, Fun and Games in Old Europe, p. 68.

Alquerque and Asymmetric Games (Fox & Geese, Siege, Ciercar de Liebra)

Alquerque is described in Alfonso X’s Book of Games, but was also more widespread – we have strong archaeological and literary evidence of it being widely played from at least the 10th – 16th

centuries.6 The game known as ‘Fox and Geese’ is first mentioned in the Grettis Saga (c.1300) under the name ‘Halatafl’.7 In the records of King Edward IV of England in the 15th century, there is a purchase of two full sets of pieces for the game.8 The same board could be used with two defenders and twenty-four beseigers to play ‘The Siege Game’, which is first referred to in a letter by Erasmus in 1525.9 Ciercar de Liebra, described by Alfonso X and played on an Alquerque board, has clear similarities to these ‘hunt’ games.10

Small Games (Five Lines, Three Men’s Morris, Hare’s Game)

Five Lines is a board game that was well known in Greece in the 7th-3rd centuries BC.11 Three Men’s Morris is essentially identical to modern Noughts and Crosses, and is the simplest form of the Morris game family (see above). Hare’s Game (also called fox and hens, and post-period, the Soldier’s Game), is a small-scale hunt game, belonging to the same family as Ciercar de Liebra and Fox and Geese.12

Game Pieces & Dice

All of these games can be played using the pieces for 11x11 tafl (i.e. 24 dark pieces, 12 light pieces, and a ‘king’ piece), with the single exception that Five Lines also needs a single die. I decided to include a set of three dice, as that allows for most medieval dice games.

My instructions book lists instructions for seven of the dice games that appear in Alfonso X’s Book of Games, specifically: Mayores (also called ‘battle’); Tanto en Uno Como en Dos (‘as many on one as on two’); Par con As (‘pair with an ace’); Triga; Riffa (equivalent to English ‘raffle’); and Azar (also called ‘hazard’) and its variations.13 This form of Hazard is somewhat simpler than the late-period version, but is recognisably very similar.

6 Alfonso X’s Book of Games, f.91r.Endrei & Zolnay, Fun and Games in Old Europe, p.69.7 W. Endrei & L. Zolnay. Fun and Games in Old Europe, K. Ravasz, trans. (1986: Corvina Kiadó, Budapest), p. 70.8 Endrei & Zolnay, Fun and Games in Old Europe, p. 70.9 Endrei & Zolnay, Fun and Games in Old Europe, p.71.10 Alfonso X’s Book of Games, f.91v.Endrei & Zolnay, Fun and Games in Old Europe, p. 70.11 See Schädler, Ulrich. ‘Pente Grammai – The Ancient Greek Board Game Five Lines’, in Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, Proceedings (2009), pp.173-196.12 Endrei & Zolnay, Fun and Games in Old Europe, p. 70.13 Alfonso X’s Book of Games, f.65-71.

Conclusions

It is both possible and easy to make a travel gameboard suitable for a large number of medieval games (twelve board games and at least seven dice games). With a total of 37 pieces, 3 dice, and a fabric pouch, I was able to make individual sets quite cheaply, although of course it would be possible to use more expensive materials and techniques to make a more elaborate set.

Bibliography

Alfonso X’s Book of Games, S. Musser Golladay, trans., http://jnsilva.ludicum.org/HJT2012/BookofGames.pdf.

Endrei, W. & L. Zolnay. Fun and Games in Old Europe, K. Ravasz, trans. (1986: Corvina Kiadó, Budapest).

Helmfrid, Sten. Hnefatafl – The Stragegic Board Game of the Vikings, http://hem.bredband.net/b512479/Hnefatafl_by_Sten_Helmfrid.pdf.

Schädler, Ulrich. ‘Pente Grammai – The Ancient Greek Board Game Five Lines’, in Board Game Studies Colloquium XI, Proceedings (2009), pp.173-196.