Tæfl — An Anglo-Saxon game
The Anglo-Saxons enjoyed playing board games. They called them tæfl. This one is also
called “fox and goose”. It is a game for two players.
To play, you will need 14 counters or buttons:
13 should be light-coloured. These are the GEESE. Put them on the squares marked “g”
1 should be dark-coloured. This is the FOX. Put it on the square marked “f”
All the pieces move one square at a time, in any direction, vertical or horizontal. They cannot
move diagonally. The geese move first.
The FOX wants to eat the geese. He eats a goose by jumping over it and taking it off the
board. He can jump over any goose touching his own square — provided there is an empty
square behind it for him to land in. The fox can jump any number of geese in one turn (like in
draughts) but he can only jump vertically and horizontally, not diagonally. There has to be an
empty square behind each goose for him to land. If he eats all of the geese, he wins.
The GEESE cannot eat the fox — but they can chase him into a corner, or against the side of
the board, so that he cannot move. If the geese manage to trap the fox, they have won.
f
g
g
Karl Wittwer Ða Engliscan Gesiðas 2007
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
BM Box 4336, London WC1X 3XX
Karl Wittwer Ða Engliscan Gesiðas 2007
BM Box 4336, London WC1X 3XX