Reconstruction

Referenced from:

Michel's reconstruction of Losing Loadum (pdf) -- PDF (more)
Roman Board Games -- Wally J. Kowalski's reconstructions of various pre-period games. (more)
The Battle of Numbers -- An overview of Rhythmomachy, focused on the mathematical aspects, published by the American Mathematical Society. (more)
Dagonell on Goose -- A concise description, plus an outline for a live-action version to play with kids. (more)
James Wickson's reconstruction of early Tarot -- (more)
So You Have This Chess Set -- A quick PDF introduction to several period Chess variations. (more)
Michel Wolffauer's writeup on Tarot -- PDF, adapted from Justin's version (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Noddy and Early Cribbage -- (more)
Parlett on Karnoeffel -- (more)
Backgammon Galore on Irish -- (more)
A preliminary reconstruction of Maw by Glenn Overby -- This pointer is to the Wayback Machine. (Please support the Wayback Machine -- it is an invaluable service to all researchers.) (more)
Justin's description of Early French Tarot -- Largely based on Michael Dummett's The Game of Tarot (more)
Tablero da Gucci at the Game Cabinet -- This sounds like a pretty authoritative description of the drinking game. (more)
David Levy's Trictrac Homepage -- Via the Wayback Machine. (more)
Trump, transcribed by Antron de Stoc -- A section from Bellot's Familiar Dialogues (1586). Includes a quick reconstruction, as well as a Lochac variant. (more)
An in-depth paper on Metromachy (pdf) PDF may not be available -- Written in French, including a translation of the Latin primary source into French. (Sadly for us English monoglots.) (more)
YouTube video teaching Duodecima Scripta -- (more)
Dagonell's discussion of Bowling -- (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Laugh and Lie Down -- (more)
Dagonell on Gluckshaus -- (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Dagonell on Morris Games -- Information on the board games (more)
Dagonell on Knucklebones -- Includes Gomme's description of "Fivestones". Images are broken. (more)
YouTube video teaching Hnefatafl -- Slightly clumsy presentation style, but useful for folks who learn best from a live presentation. (more)
Margaret's reconstruction of Piquet -- (more)
Trondheim Hnefatafl Board Fragment -- Some notes about a relatively recently found board, and some thoughts about its possible implications. (more)
Parlett on Ombre -- (more)
The Reasoned Dictionary of Trictrac -- A big site, mostly arranged as an enormous dictionary of terms and concepts of Trictrac. Theoretically in both English and French, but in practice the English support is quite weak. Includes an Initiatory Course in Trictrac. (more)
Parlett on Costly Colors -- Goes into some detail about what little we know about the game (more)
YouTube video teaching Three Men's Morris -- (more)
The Game Cabinet on Tafl Games -- An overview of the family, including some of the more distant cousins, Seega and Latrunculi. (more)
Susan Granquist's page on Tafl -- A relatively brief description. (more)
Dagonell on Shove Groat -- (more)
Rhythmomachy Basics -- An introduction to the common concepts of the game (more)
Jean-Louis Cazaux' History of Chess -- An excellent in-depth site, giving lots of information on the topic. Discusses the history, the archaeology, lots of papers about chess, many variations (including a lot of Eastern variants), etc. (more)
Dagonell on Kubb -- Potentially a game that Vikings played. Similar to bowling, but with sticks. (more)
Jean-Louis Cazaux' speculations about Ashtapada -- This page has an in-depth discussion about why the author disagrees with HJR Murray's reconstruction, and provides his own best guess about how the game way played. (more)
Blind Man's Buff at the Virtual Museum -- Based on the Brueghel painting. (more)
Dagonell's description on Alquerques -- (more)
Modar on Bocce -- (more)
A period-style description of Gleek -- Justin's writeup of Gleek from the Ace's Boke. This is a modern reconstruction, written in Elizabethan style. (more)
Backgammon Galore on Fayles -- (more)
Cats at Cards -- A site focused on teaching the rules for a wide variety of card games. Mostly post-period, but includes good descriptions of several period games. (more)
Description of Tamerlane Chess at The History of Chess site -- Goes into more detail about this game than most sites. (more)
Michel Wolffauer's handout for his Go class -- PDF, three pages (more)
Irving Finkel's detailed reconstruction of the game of Ur -- A more-than-typically detailed writeup of the game, the available source material, and how to interpret it. (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Le Jeu de Trictrac -- A substantial page in French, focused on Trictrac. (more)
Low Company reconstruction of Ticktack -- Reconstruction by Alessandro the Storyteller, with help from Justin du Coeur (more)
Count and Capture Games at the Museum of Games -- This page has a good overview of the family; at the bottom are links to boards and rules from many different countries. (more)
Modar on Pall-Mall -- Includes a speculative reconstruction of "Ground Billiards". (more)
Dagonell on Hazard & Craps -- (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Ragnar Thorbergsson's Analysis of Tafl -- One of the more important articles on the subject, this doesn't just use the sources, it also does some analysis of the playability of different reconstructions, in order to find the most plausible reconstruction. (more)
Justin on Tafl -- Largely adapted from Murray and Ragnar. (more)
An alternate version on Chess Variants -- (more)
Parlett on Reversis -- (more)
Dagonell on Tag Games -- Different types of games of tag. (more)
How to Play Cribbage -- Includes several more-recent variations. (more)
Discussion on The History of Chess -- (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- (more)
A brief description of several games, at Tattershall Arms -- (more)
Period-style intro to Rhythmomachy -- From the Ace's Boke (more)
Damian Walker's Hnefetafl Site -- A large and deep site on All Things Hnefetafl, and really, on the Tafl family in general. Especially strong sections on Archaeological Finds, Literary Sources, and stuff like that. (more)
Jeff Suzuki's reconstruction of Primero -- (more)
The Game Cabinet on Senet -- Includes a couple of different reconstructions. (more)
Hazard on the Tattershall Arms page -- (more)
Dagonell on Football -- (more)
Modar on Wari -- (more)
Inn and Inn from the Ace's Boke -- Period-style text (more)
David Parlett's reconstruction of Gleek -- (more)
Merels at the Museum of Games -- (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- (more)
Shogi Rules -- A nice clear description of how to play Shogi, with lots of pictures. (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
The Viking Answer Lady on Tafl Games -- A lovely, detailed article on the Tafl family in general, outlining the major variants. (more)
A news article about reconstructing Kottabos -- Talks a little about the reconstruction process, and has a video of people playing at the game. (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- Includes a Zillions implementation. (more)
Period-style description of Irish -- From the Ace's Boke. Note that this is a modern writeup in period style! (more)
Dagonell on Hopscotch -- (more)
Tali at the Roman Board Games site -- URL via the Wayback Machine. (more)
Michel Wolffauer's handout on Tafl -- PDF, 2 pages (more)
Traditional Game Rules -- James Masters' site, some of which is indexed by game here. Some of this is period, but not all. (more)
Discussion at The History of Chess -- By far the most detailed discussion of this game that I know of. Mainly focuses on debunking the myths about the antiquity of this variant, arguing strongly that, while it is SCA-period, it isn't as ancient as folks usually claim. (more)
A period-style description of Piquet -- Not actually period -- a modern writeup of the game, using Elizabethan-style English (more)
16th century Rhythmomachy -- A reconstruction of the later form of the game described in Fulke. (more)
Jeff Johnston's reconstruction of One-and-Thirty and Bone-Ane -- (more)
Modar on Game of the Goose -- Illustrated with the Kadon Enterprises board. (more)
Still More Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century Card Games -- Part of a series by Earl Dafydd ap Gwystl, this includes reconstructions of several games. (more)
Modar's reconstruction of As Nas -- Based on work by Brusten de Bearsul (more)
Description at the History of Chess -- Not a terribly detailed reconstruction. (more)
Description at The History of Chess -- In English with transcription in Old Spanish (more)
The Loop Within Circular Three Men's Morris -- An analysis of the possible situations within this ancient Morris variant. (more)
Norse Games -- An interesting article from Ravensgard. (more)
Board Game Studies -- This is a yearly academic journal of board games. Issues are freely available from 2016. Not exclusively historical or SCA-period, but has enough relevant material to be worth keeping an eye on.The predecessor paper journal ran for half a dozen issues over a number of years, but isn't easy to get a hold of. (more)
Justin on Irish -- (more)
Dagonell on Curling -- Brief description on the origin of curling (more)
Michel Wolffauer's reconstruction of El Mundo -- PDF, two pages (more)
Michel's reconstruction of Gleek -- An in-depth PDF about Gleek (more)
Rithmomachia on Game Cabinet -- (more)
Game Cabinet on Tablero -- Apparently Tablero da Gucci has leaked out into the public as "Toblaro", purportedly from Scotland. The folk process in action... (more)
Justin's description of Bryncir -- Based on Brusten's reconstruction (more)
Period-style description of Tafl -- From the Ace's Boke. This is a modern reconstruction, written in period style. (more)
Gwyddbwyll reconstruction from Y Camamseriad -- A nicely detailed article on the Gwyddbwyll and Towlbrwdd, which may or may not be the same game. (more)
Modar on Fox and Geese -- (more)
Description on The History of Chess -- (more)
Modar's reconstruction of Tarok -- An Eastern European variant. (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Gleek -- (more)
Michel Wolffauer on Chess of the Four Seasons -- A nice concise writeup on how to play. (more)
Dwyle Flunking at the Virtual Museum -- Brief article based on the Brueghel painting. (more)
Dagonell's description of Boules -- Information on Boules and Bocce (more)
Medieval European Chess at The History of Chess -- A very good, not-too-long description of core SCA-period chess. (more)
YouTube video teaching Latrunculi -- (more)
So You Have This Backgammon Board -- A brief PDF introduction to several period Tables variations. (more)
Justin's reconstructions of Primero -- Covering English and Italian separately. (more)
Gambling Games -- Baron Aurddeilen-ap-Robet provides a likely reconstruction based on other games of this period. (more)
Wikipedia article on Shagai -- Brief descriptions of lots of games of various sorts played with Shagai. (more)
Strawberry's reconstruction of Karnöffel -- A dash of history, and a couple of reconstructions. (more)
Bassetta, A Renaissance Italian Card Game -- (more)
Abbas Agraphicus -- The Hnefatafl-focused blog of Alessandro Arzani (more)
Parlett on Penneech -- (more)
Justin's preliminary reconstruction of Ruff and Honours -- (more)
Hnefatafl World Championship -- Run by the Fetlar organization, and gives a bit of info about the game itself (more)
Full Tamerlane Chess at The History of Chess -- Yet a further variant of Tamerlane's, with even more pieces. This is the most brain-breakingly baroque version of Chess I have yet encountered. One of these days, I may try making a set, just to try this mess out. (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Parlett on Laugh and Lie Down -- (more)
Modar's reconstruction of 2-player Alouette -- Based on work by Brusten de Bearsul (more)
Sten Helmfrid on Tafl Games -- Nominally focused on Hnefetafl, but really a fine, deeply detailed overview of the entire family. (more)
Dagonell on Tablero de Jesus -- Proven to be a game from the 1970s. (more)
Backgammon Galore on Tabula -- (more)
Description on The History of Chess -- (more)
A possible Bowling variant -- From the Virtual Museum, based on the Brueghel painting. (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Ruff and Trump -- (more)
Modar's reconstruction of Basset -- Based on work by Brusten de Bearsul (more)
Strawberry's reconstruction of Thirty-One -- Reconstruction of Thirty-One, with sources pushing the game all the way back into the 15th century. (more)
Sonja Musser Golladay's Dissertation on the Alfonso MS (PDF) -- A giant PDF copy of the full, 1400-page tome about the Alfonso. This is the single most important source when working on this MS, including a full translation, lots of notes and reconstruction details, information about the culture and context, and so on. (more)
Modar's reconstruction of All Fours -- (more)
Smithsonian Learning Center on Hnefetafl -- (more)
A Medieval Battle of Numbers -- An overview of Rhythmomachy by Peter Mebben, one of the more serious students of the game. (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Seven-Sided Backgammon -- One of my prouder achievements, this reconstruction has caught on pretty widely. (more)
Description from Abstract Games -- Discussion of Alquerques and a bunch of similar games. (more)
A brief description of Primero on the Landsknecht page -- (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Cacho -- (more)
Modar on Fierges -- (more)
A brief description on the Landsknecht info site -- (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
The Chess Variant Pages -- The most important site on the subject, covering an enormous spectrum of chess variations, both period and modern. Note particularly the Historic Chess Variants page, which collects all historical versions. Many of the Variant links go into there. (more)
David Parlett on Noddy -- Nicely detailed description, including some history (more)
1on1 Backgammon on Tabula -- (more)
Fidchell in Dreoilin's Weblog -- A discussion of the game of Fidchell, plus a lot of cultural background. (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Pechigonga -- (more)
Courier Chess Description at The History of Chess -- (more)
Anton de Stoc's reconstruction of Trump -- This is a transcription of a brief fragment of a language text, and a reconstruction of Trump based on it. (more)
Modar's reconstruction of 4-player Alouette -- Based on work from Brusten de Bearsul (more)
Dagonell on Rithmomachy -- (more)
Bowls at the Virtual Museum -- Based on the Brueghel painting. (more)
A reconstruction from the Avacal Games Guild -- (more)
Description on The History of Chess -- (more)
Description from the British Chess Variants Society -- Mostly a little bit of analysis of the game. (more)
David Whittaker's reconstruction of Primero -- This link is via the Wayback Machine. (more)
The Asia Society on Sugoroku -- Brief, but useful. (more)
Galleron's reconstructed Pochspiel board -- Posted by Master Galleron de Cressy on DeviantArt. (more)
Parlett on Losing Lodam -- (more)
YouTube video teaching Jactus -- (more)
Michel Wolffauer on Hopscotch -- (more)
Sonja Musser Golladay's dissertation on the Alfonso MS -- This link is hosted by Scribd. Golladay's dissertation is the masterwork on the Alfonso MS, including a full translation, copious notes and reconstruction details, and all sorts of information about the art and culture surrounding the book. It is a must-have for anyone researching this text. (more)
YouTube video teaching Nine Men's Morris -- (more)
A description of Kaiserspiel -- A descendant of Karnoeffel, still played in the modern day (more)
Laugh and Lie Down Cheat Sheet -- A one-page PDF summary, adapted by Michel from Justin's reconstruction (more)
Parlett on Maw -- (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- (more)
Gluckhaus at The Reverend's Musings -- A good quick description of the game, with a little history and illustrations of several boards. (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Picket -- (more)
Dagonell on Dwyle Flonking -- Brief description of a tavern game (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Truc -- (more)
How to Play Piquet -- Includes a pretty detailed description of play, as well as several more-recent variations. (more)
Citadel Chess - Description at The History of Chess -- (more)
Mats Winther on Halatafl -- As usual, he states his case strongly and includes a software implementation. Not clear to me whether he's correct, but he does include a previous reconstruction as well. (more)
Dagonell on Quoits and Horseshoes -- (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- Includes a dicing variant. (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Flor -- (more)
YouTube video teaching Gluckhaus -- (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Dagonell on Teetotums -- He reasons that the game is probably similar to Dreidels. (more)
Lady Gwir ferch John on Noddy -- (more)
Hazard on the Landsknecht page (Site is gone) -- (more)
How to Play Whist -- Includes a number of variations from various times. (more)
Rules to Goose at Kadon Enterprises -- (more)
A reconstruction of Beast, or Le Beste by Symon of Barnesdale -- Note that La Bete and Le Beste seem to be two different games. (more)
Michael Wolffauer on Poch -- (more)
Ringing the Bull at Traditional Games -- Legend says it came back with the Crusaders. (more)
A brief description on the Landsknecht page -- (more)
Merels in the Ace's Boke -- Period-style text, but not actually period. (more)
Mats Winther's Description -- URL via the Wayback Machine. (more)
Backgammon Galore on Doublets -- (more)
Modar on Tablut -- (more)
Modar's reconstruction of Karnoffel -- Based on work by Brusten de Bearsul (more)
Ruffe and Trump -- A concise summary of the rules of the game. Seems reasonably accurate, aside from referring to the game as "medieval". (more)
Modar's description of Alquerques -- (more)
Justin on Dublets -- (more)
YouTube video teaching Ludus Latrunculorum -- (more)
Parlett on Loo -- He has several reconstructions, and is looking at a broader sweep of history; I haven't yet checked his writeup against Cotton specifically yet. (more)
A period-style description of Tarot -- Not a primary source; this is a modern reconstruction written in Elizabethan-style language, from the Ace's Boke. (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Bone-Ace -- (more)
Mats Winther on Fox and Geese -- Notes several setup variations. (more)
Edward of Effingham on Sugoroku -- A page on Effingham's Online Japanese Miscellary, which goes into all sorts of topics about SCA-period Japan. (more)
Mats Winther's reconstruction -- Specifically discusses the dicing variant. As is Mats' usual interest, spends some time discussing the possibility of using the game for divination. URL via the Wayback Machine (more)
A reconstruction of La Bete by the Low Company -- At this point, I regard this reconstruction as seriously questionable; I'll put together a more plausible one when I have time. (more)
Michael Wolffauer on Trappola -- (more)
Period-style Elizabethan Rhythmomachy Rules -- An Ace's Boke rewrite of my reconstruction of 16th century Rhythmomachy (more)
How to Play Ruff and Honours -- Described on their Whist page, as a variant. (more)
Alternate reconstruction of Grande Acedrex -- A very detailed reconstruction that goes back to the Alfonso MS and looks at it carefully. (more)
Backgammon Galore on Trictrac -- (more)
Magnus' reconstruction and implementation of Metromachy -- Pulling together Justin's transcription and Steffan's translation, Magnus tied it all together, reconstructed the rules, and built an online implementation. (more)
Wareham Forge on Hnefetafl -- Includes a bunch of links. (more)
Michael Wolffauer on Wari -- (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Rentoy -- (more)