The Game Every Intel Professional Should Play Is Now For Sale!

CVTV, a new version of the ancient game of Hnefatafl

Hnefatafl is one of my favorite games.  Quick to play, easy to learn, created by Vikings - what's not to love?

I recommend it to intelligence professionals, however, because it is an asymmetric game that forces players to really think like their opponents to win.  That, in my estimation, is a skill worth learning.

Last year, I ran a successfully funded Kickstarter project to produce my variant of this game.  Well, I have finally managed to fulfill all of the rewards promised under that campaign (long story...don't ask...) and am now able to make the game available to the general public!

If you are just interested in learning the kinds of things I talked about in the interview below or in just owning a nicely made, portable variant of the game, then I recommend the basic set.  This is also the set I would recommend to educators and trainers who would like to use the game to foster a discussion on asymmetry of goals, forces or geography (Contact me directly for discounts on bulk orders).

If, on the other hand you are into Cthulhu or into Vikings or, better yet, into Cthulhu vs. The Vikings, I recommend you think about buying the deluxe set (and, what the heck, you might as well get the comic to go with it - so you'll know the story!).

Whichever set you get, I am certain that you will enjoy the game!  And Happy Thanksgiving to all!

The Game Every Intel Professional Should Play Is Now Online And Free!

About a year ago, I wrote about one of my favorite games, the old Viking game of Hnefatafl.  I said then I thought it was a game every intel professional should play.

Since then I created an launched an updated tabletop version of the game through Kickstarter called Cthulhu vs the Vikings and a few months ago announced a very rough online version of the game.

Today, the high quality version is available for free on my website, SourcesandMethodsGames.com!

The game is an asymmetric, player vs. player game.  For those of you unfamiliar with gamer-speak, this means that, like games such as Words With Friends, you are playing a real person and not the computer.  It also means that you do not have to sit at the terminal waiting - you can play a few moves, walk away and come back and finish it later.  You can even have up to 5 games going at the same time!

Another unique feature of this games is that you can either play against people you have invited or you can choose the "Quickplay" option which will match you against the next player to come to the game and choose quickplay as well.

It's a great opportunity to play a great game!  Hope you enjoy it!

NOW AVAILABLE: The Ancient Viking Game Every Intelligence Professional Should Play

Panel from the comic, Cthulhu Vs The Vikings

 

A couple of weeks ago I posted an article about the ancient Viking game, Hnefatafl, along with some thoughts about why I thought it was a good game for intel professionals to play. 

A lot - and I mean a lot - has happened since then.

The most important thing (at least to me) is that I have developed a new version of the game that is now for sale.  It is called Cthulhu vs. The Vikings and is currently available on Kickstarter.  The backstory to the game, which is told in the form of a comic, mashes-up the Viking sagas with the Cthulhu stories from H.P. Lovecraft (a horror writer from the 1920's).

While the game itself also plays on those themes in terms of the design work (in the board and the pieces), the rules are straight Hnefatafl.  In fact, I got permission from the Fetlar Hnefatafl Panel, which sponsors the Hnefatafl World Championships, to use their rules (Note:  The Hnefatafl World Championships were held AUG 3 in Fetlar Scotland and Amanda Caukwell is the new World Champion!).

Bottomline:  If you are looking for an attractive and affordable copy of the ancient Viking game, Hnefatafl, you can now find one here.

The blog post also got picked up by the radio show, The World, produced jointly by the BBC, Public Radio International and Boston's WGBH.  They interviewed me about the game and about its importance to intelligence professionals.  You can listen to the interview below:

Finally, the game and its relationship to intel also got a little local press and a lot of interest from the readers of this blog (Thanks for the emails and kind words)! 

The Ancient Viking Game Every Intelligence Professional Should Play

On August 3rd, the village of Fetlar, Scotland (go ahead, try to find it - I'll wait), will hold the Hnefatafl World Championships.  With a population of 86, Fetlar might seem an unlikely place to hold the world championships of one of the world's oldest games.  The truth is Hnefatafl, or "King's Table", is nowhere near as popular today as it was in the days of the Vikings.  In fact, for the 250 or so years that make up the Viking Age, Hnefatafl (or games very similar to it) was the chess, the checkers, the go, and the Nintendo for the Norse.   

A modern version of Hnefatafl.  Traditional boards are simpler and pieces were often stones or marbles.  The layout and the rules are, however, the same.

Today, only dedicated tabletop gamers have ever heard of it and many of them have never had a chance to play the game.  That is a shame for it's an extraordinary game with a number of lessons embedded in it for the curious intelligence professional.  For example:

• It is an asymmetric game.  As you can see from the board above, one side starts in the center and the other side surrounds it on all four sides.  One side outnumbers the other by about 2:1.  The sides even have different victory conditions (the player with the pieces in the center need to get the "King", the large playing piece in the middle of the board, to one of the corners.  The other player is trying to capture the King).  It is not too hard to see a game such as this one incorporated into courses, classes or discussions of asymmetric warfare.
• It is a conflict simulation.  Most historians agree that there were relatively few large scale battles involving Vikings. Instead, most of the time, combat resulted from raiding activities.  Hnefatafl seems to reflect the worst case scenario for a Viking raider:  Cut off from your boats and outnumbered 2:1. 
• It provides a deep lesson in strategic thinking.  Lessons in both the strategy of the central position (hundred of years before Napoleon made it famous) and in the relative value of interior vs. exterior lines of communication are embedded in this game. 

What makes this game even more fascinating for me is what it teaches implicitly - that is, what are the lessons it teaches the players without the players knowing that they are learning?  Furthermore, what does this tell us about the Viking culture?  For example:

• It takes two soldiers to kill another soldier.  This is one of the few games where it takes more than one piece to capture another piece.  Basically, one pins and the other piece comes up and deals the killing blow.  
• It is good to be King.  The only piece that really matters is the King.  If the King escapes and loses 90% of his soldiers in the process, it is still a victory.  Likewise, if the King is captured but at a horrific cost to the enemy, it is still a loss.
• It is easier for the player in the center to win.  You heard that right, because of the value of interior lines and because of the difficulty of capturing the King, the player who is surrounded, cut-off and outnumbered 2:1 has the advantage.  In fact, in games with novices a simple, "fight through the ambush" strategy almost always wins.

Now, imagine this game being played night after night in the langhús of some Viking Jarl.  What lessons are being implicitly conveyed to the young Viking warriors?  Work together, protect the King, and don't worry about how bad it looks - we can win!  All in all, not a bad way to teach important lessons in a barely literate society.  More importantly, understanding this game provides yet another insight into Viking culture and strategic thinking. 

The value of this particular game to intelligence professionals and others is one of the reasons I decided to offer a version of it as the second game from my new company, Sources and Methods Games.  It has historical significance as well as providing deep lessons in asymmetric warfare, strategy and cultural intelligence.  It is an excellent addition to the intelligence studies classroom.