Seven Ravens

A fairly simple abstract strategy game for two with a Nordic feel, which combines elements of hnefatafl and chess. Stated to be a traditional folk game with rules handed down in the family, when marketed online, but it appears not to have been previously recorded.

Played on a square wooden board, divided into 7×7 undifferentiated squares (the game can also be played on an 8×8 chess board).

One player takes 6 light / natural coloured discs, termed ravens, and sets them up in one corner of the board, one in the very corner, another in each of the adjacent squares, and the remaining three in the squares adjacent to those. The opponent takes six dark / stained discs, and similarly sets them up in the opposite corner. Each player's specially marked disc, termed Odin's Raven, is placed at the head of this flock. Players then take turns in moving one of their ravens, with the aim of winning the game by capturing all of the opposing ravens. Odin's raven moves like a knight in chess, and captures by landing on an opposing disc. Other ravens move like chess rooks, and capture by flanking an opposing disc, as in hnefatafl. Odin's raven may also participate in these flanking captures. There are several slight variants with differing movement / capturing rules.