Casting new Tafl Game Pieces

So we decided we wanted a choice of game pieces for our Tafl boards.  For the new set, we're going simple, just a sphere on a base, inspired by some of the simple stone pieces of authentic germanic boards.  It's all one piece, cast in the same mold, but we'll play around with simple color variations.  These four will be used to create a 4-piece master mold.  This picture shows the new ones in front of a few of our larger Tafl pieces.

And Back to Tafl games...

This is dry assembled tafl board...a 9x9 grid used in the tafl variant called "Tablut".  Before we're done, we'll apply danish oil to the board, and add a border frame to tie the set together.  Tablut is the best documented tafl game--the Swedish botonist Carl Linnaeus observed Sami tribesmen in Lapland playing the game in 1732 and recorded what he could (he didn't speak the language) in his journal.
(oh yeah, and notice the Orbiter Arts wine glass--ordered a set of these a few months back, just threw it in the pic to show it off)

Rough Tafl board--Ard Ri

This is an unfinished Tafl board with game pieces.  Tafl board games are a family of Germanic and Celtic games, and the boards themselves ranged from 7x7 squares to a board to as many as 19x19 squares.  Tafl games were a favorite of the Vikings, and often show up in places they frequented.  Our Tafl board is a Scottish variant called Ard-Ri ("High King").  As is typical of these ancient games, the rules we play by today are largely conjecture, but in general the game play involves two sides, one of which is typically outnumbered 2:1.  The smaller force, in the case of Ard Ri, is composed of a king (who starts in the center) and eight soldiers.  The opposing force surrounds the king's forces and attempt to capture the king.  If the king successfuly moves to a corner, then the game is over in favor of the king's player. 

Considering the range of Tafl games out there, not to mention my own love of Norse antiquity, we'll definitely be spending quite a bit of time crafting more of these games.