It's pronounced NEFFA-TAFEL. Interesting article.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-board-game-at-the-heart-of-viking-culture
As described by Linnaeus, tablut pit an offensive player against a defensive opponent. The latter placed a king piece in the central square of a checkered board and surrounded it with defenders. This player attempted to win the game by maneuvering the king to one of the four corners of the board. The game's rules awarded the opposing player a superior number of pieces, which were placed in formation around the king's defense. This player won by occupying all four squares around the king. All pieces in the game moved horizontally and vertically, like the rook in chess.
Anybody know if there's a current version to buy?
You can get copies on Amazon, and it is quite fun.
Rhialto, tell us more! How was actual gameplay? I saw some complaints about balance on the Amazon site, but what has been your experience?
I'm certainly no master, but played many games years ago with my brothers, then more recently with my son: the King never seems to be able to break free, so maybe that's unbalancing to some. We just solved that by alternating sides. I'm not one of those who studies abstract strategy games like this (chess, go, etc.), I just play it for fun.
Update: my son and I played a couple of games last night, and it was the opposite of what I recalled. The king escaped in both games, rather easily...we'll try some more today. It plays fast, at least when you're first learning and one mistake in containment results in the king slipping through.