Medieval Games
Gwyddbwyll
a Welsh board game
Gwyddbwyll in Old Welsh is an ancient Celtic board game also called fidchell in Old Irish. It was played with two sides of an equal number of pieces.
What little evidence there is suggests that it may have its origins in the Roman game ludus latrunculorum ("game of robbers"). This game is known to have still been played in post-Roman Britain and so was well-known in early medieval Wales.
From irish literary sources, we know that in fidchell/gwyddbwyll opposing pieces were taken by bracketing two men around one enemy man on the same line. The same sources indicate that the pieces were usually cone shaped.
A gwyddbwyll board is mentioned in several medieval Welsh tales and in this 12th century version of the Arthurian story, Peredur son of Efrawg:
"Peredur came to the castle, and the castle gate was open. And when he reached the hall the door was open, and when he went inside he saw a gaming board in the hall, and either of the two sets of pieces was playing against the other, and the one to which he gave his help began to lose the game. And the other side gave a shout, just as if they had been men. Then he grew angry and took the set of pieces on his lap and threw the board in the lake."
Unfortunately we have no surviving gwyddbwyll boards from the medieval period or indeed any rules, so when I play I use the board and one of the various sets of rules of ludus latrunculorum to at least show that the Welsh and the Marchers would have played a board game other than chess.
Rules:
There are many versions of the rules out there, these are the ones that we play:
The game is played on a board of 13 x 8 squares .Roman boards found are mainly 12 or 13 x 8 but boards of 10 x 8 and sometimes 8 x 8 are found. The, possibly pre-Roman invasion, game board found in a “Celtic” grave near Colchester had a 12 x 8 board.
A player’s pieces are placed in the row nearest to them
The players decide who gets the first turn – we toss a coin or something.
Players move only one piece in their turn, and they move orthogonally, i.e. in a straight line horizontally or vertically and NOT diagonally. They can move as far along that line as there are empty spaces.
Pieces can’t land on, go through, or jump over, another piece whether it is their own side or their opponent’s piece..
You capture your opponent’s pieces by moving to get them between two of your pieces, in a straight line horizontally or vertically. A piece in a corner is captured if the opponent places his men on the two squares adjacent to the corner.
The captured piece is then removed.
If a moving piece gets two opposing pieces between it and another of its side’s pieces, then both are all captured. Three or more opposing pieces can’t be taken this way.
In your turn, you may move a piece to a square between two opposing pieces without it being taken.
If a player only has one piece left, they have lost. You can also lose if you are unable to move any of your pieces.
The game often ends in an annoying stand-off with the players just chasing each other’s pieces around the board without success. At this point, have another drink and throw the board in a nearby lake like Peredur, son of Efrawg.
The Dux variations:
If playing with a “Dux” (the taller piece to the front of the lines in the picture above) there are some extra rules.
The
dux usually moves the same way as ordinary pieces but in one variation, the Dux
can jump over one piece and continue its move. This makes it
very powerful and completely
changes the nature of the game so think before you decide to use this rule option.
The dux cannot be captured.
If the Dux is unable to move, even though their other pieces can move, that player loses immediately.
