Learnings: Games and Sports

A polished and decorated bone chess piece / 10th-11th cent.

Indoor board games were often strategy contests like chess or checkers. In the game hnefatafl, or tafl, one player controlled a king and his personal guard. He had to survive against the other player's group of attacking pieces who were placed around the four sides of the board. This chess piece used in tafl was made from a bone. Pieces could also be made from other materials such as wood, tooth, and walrus ivory.

Outdoor sports were very physical and competitive, requiring strength, endurance, and agility. One activity was the glima: a form of wrestling with no holds barred. In the glima, each wrestler, had to struggle to keep his opponent pinned to the ground. Medieval Scandinavians also loved to ski.