What games did Vikings have?

Answer 1

The quieter games included many that were played on boards much like today's chess and checkers. The names and rules for the games are generally been lost, but we know that some were like Steeplechase or Snakes and Ladders which involved moving peices against dice throws. These games probably involved gambling and this activity was prohibited in such references as the medieval Icelandic lawbook Grágás (K 233) prohibited gambling on dice games or Board Games. One board game, which we know the name of was Hnefatafl that was somewhat like chess. It used 12 red "pawns", 12 white "pawns"; one "king"; and one die. Another game was Shatranj, an early form of chess which may have been borrowed from visits to Constantinople. Chapter 12 of Króka-Refs saga says that Bárðr brought gifts with him from Greenland when he visited the king of Norway. One gift was an ivory board game which was was both a hneftafl (for the Viking board game) and skáktafl (for chess). Perhaps it was laid out for a chess-like game on one side and for hnefatafl on the other.

Competition games for indoors also included eating and drinking games. Drinking to excess appears to have been routine at feasts and other celebrations. Pairs of men trading drinks and verbally sparring. With each drink, the participants were expected to compose and recite a verse of poetry, boosting their own reputation (with boasts of courageous and manly behavior) and disparaging their opponents (with taunts of cowardly or womanly behavior). As with many Viking competitions as the drinking progressed, the intensity of the ridicule, boasts, and taunts increased the drinkers became less and less inhibited and the verbal taunts became physical battlses between the men or groups. Thor and the giants apparently played this game with Loki being bested by "Fire" who ate both the meal and the woodedn plates.

Another game played in the longhouse after the evening meal was Hnútukast. This involved players throwing bones (left over from the meal) at other players with the intent of causing an injury or death (Hence the term "million laughs" VIking sports). In the Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss describes the game as it was played in a cave filled with people, along with monsters and ogres. Kolbjörn asked Þórdður what he would like to do for amusement after the meal, glíma (Wrestling) or hnútukast? Glámur answers by taking up a large bone and threw it at Þórður. Gestur grabs the bone out of the air and returnsit to Glámur, hitting his eye blinding him. In Hrólfs saga kraka the men of King Hrólfr played the game. One of the men threw a bone at Böðvarr, who caught it and returned it so that it hit the man in the head, causing his death.

The sagas mention other sporting games (leikar). These include ball games, skin throwing games, scraper games, wrestling, swimming, and horse fights. The games might last for days. Serious injury or death was not uncommon. A man was allowed to leave a game at any time he pleases, making him responsible for any unintentional injuries he may suffer to himself.

In Beowulf the idea of swimming as a competition was discussed. The goal was to see who could hold his opponent underwater the longest.

Knattleikr was played with a hard ball and a bat. The rules and the object of the game, the nature of the equipment and the playing field are all unknown. The sagas suggest the game was widely played and enjoyed. It appears to have been a full contact sport, in which people were physically held back and tackled while the ball was in play. It is thought that player caught the ball and ran with it while opposing players chased him and some sort of mayhem ensured. Players are reported to have broken their bats and many were knocked out by thrown balls and the bats. Players are reported to have been killed by other players with axes.

Wrestling and grappling was also common both as a game and as a rest of strength. These matches took place both indoors and out of doors. Broken bones andn spines were not uncommon. Some matches were actually duels where death was a desirable outcome, and outdoor fields often contained he wrestling field contained a fanghella, a flat stone set on end, on which an opponent's back could be broken. Equipment for wrestling included the wrestling jacket (fangastakkur) that helped protect wrestlers from broken bones.

Weight lifting was another game or competition. The man who could lift the heaviest boulder was the winner.

Another competition based on individual strength was toga hönk (tug-of-war). Details of the game are skimpy but it is thought that two men sat on the floor or the ground, knees bent, with the soles of their feet pressed flat on the soles of their opponents feet. They pulled on a loop of rope, which may have been marked in the middle with a tag, or with a bit of rope. By pulling on the loop with the arms and straightening the legs, it is possible to pull an opponent over, thus winning the game.

Answer 2

There was a game called Tafl, similar in concept to Chess but simpler.

Answer 3

the Viking children loved all sorts of board games and they loved swimming and running. Another favorite was playing guessing games.

Answer 4

with carrots