Welcome to Hnefatafl, an ancient Nordic board game of strategy and skill. Often referred to as "The Viking Game," Hnefatafl pits a large attacking army against a smaller group of defenders protecting their King.
Hnefatafl is an asymmetrical strategy game. One player controls the Attackers (the dark army), while the other controls the Defenders (the light army) and the King.
- Board Size: 9x9 grid.
- Starting Position: The King starts on the central square (The Throne), surrounded by his defenders. The attackers start at the edges of the board.
- Rook-like Movement: All pieces (Attackers, Defenders, and the King) move any number of empty squares horizontally or vertically.
- No Jumping: Pieces cannot jump over other pieces.
- Restricted Squares: Only the King can land on the central square (The Throne) or the four Corner Squares. Other pieces can pass through the Throne if it is empty, but they cannot stop there.
- Soldiers: A piece is captured and removed from the board if it is "sandwiched" between two enemy pieces on opposite sides (horizontally or vertically).
- Hostile Squares: The Throne and the four Corner Squares act as hostile squares. You can capture an enemy by pinning them between your piece and one of these special squares.
- The King: The King is more resilient. He can only be captured if he is surrounded on all four sides by attackers. If he is adjacent to the Throne or a Corner, he can be captured with fewer attackers (3 or 2) depending on his position.
| Side | Objective |
|---|---|
| Defenders | The King must reach any of the four Corner Squares to escape. |
| Attackers | Surround and capture the King before he escapes. |
- Smooth GUI: Built with Python and Tkinter for a classic desktop experience.
- Single Player vs AI: Challenge a computer opponent with three difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, Hard).
- Local Multiplayer: Play with a friend on the same computer.
- Atmospheric Audio: Background music and sound effects to immerse you in the Viking atmosphere.
Ensure you have Python 3.x installed on your system.
- Clone the repository or download the source code.
- Install the necessary dependencies (if not already installed):
pip install Pillow pip install cairosvg pip install svglib pip install reportlab
- Run the game by executing the following command from the root directory:
python home.py
This project was developed by a team of dedicated individuals:
- Marwan Hussein - UI designer / GUI
- Ahmed Abdellatef - Controllers
- Youssef Hossam - Core logic in Python/prolog
- Abdo Emam - Core logic in Python
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.