Ämne: Hnefatafl...and different versions of Tablut
Has Brainking considered expanding to more tafl games? I would like to see Hnefatafl (11x11 and/or 13x13 board, with different starting positions).
More importantly, I would also like to see different versions of Tablut. The board and setup the same, but the rules need to be changed (or just have different versions available to choose from).
Currently, white is favored to win 60/40 because there are 32 spaces to escape to. With "hostile" corners to escape to, the odds are much closer to 50/50 because the king can only escape to 4 spaces and can also be captured on a side square with three attackers. However, the attackers are not too advantaged because now there are more ways they can be captured (only one defender is needed to capture an attacker against the corner--making for 8 additional dangerous spaces for the attackers). You could also allow the king to take part in captures, making the "hostile" corners version closer to 50/50.
Another really good idea is just to make the "base camps" hostile (the colored squares where the attackers start from) for all players, including the king. They would have the same rules as the castle square (once left, no one can re-enter, only cross through). This would decrease the number of escape squares from 32 to 20 (and also increase the hostile squares that attackers can be captured on). I've read an article that gives good reason to believe this may be the correct version of Tablut (and why Linne thought the edge was safe--he just assumed the whole edge).
I agree with ughaibu. Brainking needs to adopt rules to make the game more balanced...there are alot of websites that support this.