I have triad to play this game with a friend, but we got stuck at the point wear the king stud next to a guard and 2 squares away from a corner, together they where surrounded. We did not know that to do because the king was not able to move but technically it was not fully surrounded as the guard stud right next to him, also not able to move. Is this a draw? Or does it count as a captured king? Or is white suppose to capture de surrounding pieces of black in order to let the king move again?
The main reason why you don't want to attack the king (placing at least one piece next to him) in the opening (within the first 8-12 moves) is because your men would be slaughtered. The king would have too many opportunities to take part in capturing any men you place against him. But once you've secured a perimeter and have started capturing his defenders (the middlegame), you will then be able to start placing men safely near him to capture him.
Thank you for your question. Watch my video titled "Hnefatafl - Tafl - Corner Escape - Discussion and Rules" where I address your question. Thanks again.
I've seen double captures where we have: -xx- xokx -xx- I.e. Where the king is surrounded on three sides, and a sandwich exists one space to the left. One of his defenders sidles up next to him, but an attacker closes the gap, creating a supposedly double-wide sandwich. Is this legal? Is this because (to use a go/wei-chi phrase) the pieces have zero liberties upon capture? Does complete enclosure constitute capture beyond basic custodial? Would this be legal if the king were still on the throne? Sorry for all the questions.
I think there are varriations on these rules. In the berserker rules surrounding all white peices Inc king counts as a capture. To my mind if you have no legal moves. It's a capture. You lost. Only thing which makes sense in that situation.
