1. Set up the board with all the game pieces:
The King (1) goes on the Ingwaz, meaning leadership, or legacy (Center Space)
The Defenders (12) go on the Dagaz, meaning protection (Spaces surrounding the Ingwaz)
The Attackers (24) go on the Ansuz, meaning chaos (4 groups of runes along the outer edges)
2. The game is won by the defenders if the king escapes to one of the corner spaces marked with an Othala, meaning homeland.
3. The game is won by the attackers if they capture the King.
4. The attackers always make the first move.
5. A player may move any piece in a straight line by sliding it along as many squares as they like, no diagonals, no turning corners and no passing or jumping.
6. Only the King can end his move on the central square or one of the four corners. This is to prevent creating a stalemate.
7. An enemy is captured by flanking it on two opposite sides, it is then removed from the board.
8. The King may act with a defender in making captures.
9. If a piece simultaneously traps two or three enemies in different directions, all the trapped enemies are captured.
10.A piece may move between two enemies without harm. In other words, you may not capture yourself. The enemy must be the aggressor for a capture to be made.
11. Either side may capture an enemy by trapping the enemy between one of its own pieces and a marked corner square. The central square does not have this effect.
Not a rule, just information: The runes along the edges are just for decoration, however it was downloaded as a font on my computer, so there is a hidden message. The edges say, “LL Wooden Creations, Hnefatafl”