The period of history in Scandinavia prior to the Viking Age (793-1066 AD) is labeled “The Roman Age” and dates from 0-400 AD (Ryder, 2003).

In the chapter titled “Before the Vikings: Scandinavia and the Roman Empire” from Richard Hall’s _The World of the Vikings_, we learn that the Romans never invaded or conquered Scandinavia. Further, the frontier along the Rhine and Danube defended the Roman Empire against Germanic tribes, while at the same time allowed for diplomatic and commercial interchange (Hall, 2007). In addition, “Germanic warriors could come south to serve as Roman auxiliary troops, and Roman luxury goods such as glassware could be traded to the north.” (Hall, 2007). And burial sites in Norway at this time “indicate links with the civilized countries to the south” with various objects of bronze and glass being found as well as “Latin-based runic letters appear for the first time.” (Ryder, 2003).

Therefore, pre-Viking peoples had regular contact with the Romans for at least four centuries and would have easily come across the extremely popular Roman game of Ludus Latrunculorum. The games are very similar. Rules common to both games (no matter the “version”) are 1) playing on a grid board, 2) orthogonal movement of the pieces, 3) capturing an opponents piece by placing two pieces on two opposite sides of it (“sandwiching”) and 4) allowing the placing of a piece safely between two opponent’s pieces.

Because the Romans did not invade or conquer Scandinavia, the Sami would not have had contact with them. It was the Vikings who did, and they are the common link between the two similar games. It makes perfect sense that the Vikings easily discovered Latrunculorum prior to 400 AD, invented tafl by clearly infusing their own personal identity to the older game (at the same time advancing its complexity), and brought the finished product to the Sami on regular and frequent trading visits.

Sources:
Ryder, Simon, editor. Norway. APA Publications. 2003. Page 18.
Hall, Richard. The World of the Vikings. Thames & Hudson, 2007. Page 14.
http://ludus-latrunculorum.co.tv/