Reconstruction

Referenced from:

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)
YouTube video teaching Ludus Latrunculorum -- (more)
Margaret's reconstruction of Piquet -- (more)
YouTube video teaching Three Men's Morris -- (more)
The Loop Within Circular Three Men's Morris -- An analysis of the possible situations within this ancient Morris variant. (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Michael Wolffauer on Wari -- (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)
Dagonell on Knucklebones -- Includes Gomme's description of "Fivestones". (more)
Period-style intro to Rhythmomachy -- From the Ace's Boke (more)
Period-style Elizabethan Rhythmomachy Rules -- An Ace's Boke rewrite of my reconstruction of 16th century Rhythmomachy (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)
Dagonell on Morris Games -- (more)
Modar's reconstruction of 4-player Alouette -- Based on work from Brusten de Bearsul (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)
YouTube video teaching Gluckhaus -- (more)
Ringing the Bull at Traditional Games -- (more)
Modar's reconstruction of All Fours -- (more)
A period-style description of Piquet -- Not actually period -- a modern writeup of the game, using Elizabethan-style English (more)
Hazard on the Landsknecht page -- (more)
Merels in the Ace's Boke -- Period-style text, but not actually period. (more)
Dagonell on Hopscotch -- (more)
Modar on Wari -- (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Pechigonga -- (more)
Description at The History of Chess -- (more)
Michael Wolffauer on Trappola -- (more)
A brief description on the Landsknecht info site -- (more)
Fidchell in Dreoilin's Weblog -- A discussion of the game of Fidchell, plus a lot of cultural background. (more)
Backgammon Galore on Trictrac -- (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)
Ruben's reconstruction of Truc -- (more)
Sonja Musser Golladay's Dissertation on the Alfonso MS (PDF) -- A 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)
Dagonell on Curling -- (more)
Traditional Game Rules -- James Masters' site, some of which is indexed by game here. Some of this is period, but not all. (more)
Parlett on Laugh and Lie Down -- (more)
Dagonell on Teetotums -- He reasons that the game is probably similar to Dreidels. (more)
Dagonell's discussion of Bowling -- (more)
Modar on Tablut -- (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Hnefatafl World Championship -- Run by the Fetlar organization, and gives a bit of info about the game itself (more)
Justin's description of Early French Tarot -- Largely based on Michael Dummett's The Game of Tarot (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)
A Medieval Battle of Numbers -- An overview of Rhythmomachy by Peter Mebben, one of the more serious students of the game. (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)
Inn and Inn from the Ace's Boke -- Period-style text (more)
Dagonell's description of Boules -- (more)
An in-depth paper on Metromachy -- Written in French, including a translation of the Latin primary source into French. (Sadly for us English monoglots.) (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Rentoy -- (more)
Michel Wolffauer's handout on Tafl -- PDF, 2 pages (more)
How to Play Whist -- Includes a number of variations from various times. (more)
Justin's description of Bryncir -- Based on Brusten's reconstruction (more)
Parlett on Costly Colors -- Goes into some detail about what little we know about the game (more)
YouTube video teaching Nine Men's Morris -- (more)
Modar on Pall-Mall -- Includes a speculative reconstruction of "Ground Billiards". (more)
Hazard on the Tattershall Arms page -- (more)
YouTube video teaching Duodecima Scripta -- (more)
YouTube video teaching Hnefatafl -- Slightly clumsy presentation style, but useful for folks who learn best from a live presentation. (more)
Description at the History of Chess -- Not a terribly detailed reconstruction. (more)
Dagonell on Dwyle Flonking -- (more)
Parlett on Karnoeffel -- (more)
Rithmomachia on Game Cabinet -- (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)
How to Play Cribbage -- Includes several more-recent variations. (more)
Description on The History of Chess -- (more)
Justin on Tafl -- Largely adapted from Murray and Ragnar. (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Cacho -- (more)
Rules to Goose at Kadon Enterprises -- (more)
A possible Bowling variant -- From the Virtual Museum, based on the Brueghel painting. (more)
The Battle of Numbers -- An overview of Rhythmomachy, focused on the mathematical aspects, published by the American Mathematical Society. (more)
Modar's reconstruction of Basset -- Based on work by Brusten de Bearsul (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)
Parlett on Losing Lodam -- (more)
So You Have This Backgammon Board -- A brief PDF introduction to several period Tables variations. (more)
Sonja Musser Golladay's dissertation on the Alfonso MS (hardcopy) -- This link is a search into University Microfilms' dissertation service. 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)
Strawberry's reconstruction of Karnöffel -- A dash of history, and a couple of reconstructions. (more)
Modar on Game of the Goose -- Illustrated with the Kadon Enterprises board. (more)
Backgammon Galore on Fayles -- (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)
Description at The History of Chess -- Goes into more detail about this game than most sites. (more)
Bassetta, A Renaissance Italian Card Game -- (more)
Modar on Fierges -- (more)
Sten Helmfrid on Tafl Games -- Nominally focused on Hnefetafl, but really a fine, deeply detailed overview of the entire family. (more)
1on1 Backgammon on Tabula -- (more)
Description from Abstract Games -- Discussion of Alquerques and a bunch of similar games. (more)
Dagonell on Shove Groat -- (more)
YouTube video teaching Jactus -- (more)
Bowls at the Virtual Museum -- Based on the Brueghel painting. (more)
Mats Winther's description -- 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)
A brief description on the Landsknecht page -- (more)
Period-style description of Tafl -- From the Ace's Boke. This is a modern reconstruction, written in period style. (more)
Backgammon Galore on Doublets -- (more)
Tablero da Gucci at the Game Cabinet -- This sounds like a pretty authoritative description of the drinking game. (more)
Justin's reconstructions of Primero -- Covering English and Italian separately. (more)
David Parlett's reconstruction of Gleek -- (more)
Modar on Bocce -- (more)
Justin on Dublets -- (more)
Modar's reconstruction of Karnoffel -- Based on work by Brusten de Bearsul (more)
Mats Winther on Gala -- Via the Wayback Machine. (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)
Justin's reconstruction of Ruff and Trump -- (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- (more)
Smithsonian Learning Center on Hnefetafl -- (more)
The Game Cabinet on Tafl Games -- An overview of the family, including some of the more distant cousins, Seega and Latrunculi. (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Noddy and Early Cribbage -- (more)
Modar's reconstruction of Tarok -- An Eastern European variant. (more)
David Levy's Trictrac Homepage -- Via the Wayback Machine. (more)
Shogi Rules -- A nice clear description of how to play Shogi, with lots of pictures. (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)
Modar's description -- (more)
Parlett on Reversis -- (more)
Medieval European Chess at The History of Chess -- A very good, not-too-long description of core SCA-period chess. (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Bone-Ace -- (more)
Modar on Fox and Geese -- (more)
The Game Cabinet on Senet -- Includes a couple of different reconstructions. (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Seven-Sided Backgammon -- One of my prouder achievements, this reconstruction has caught on pretty widely. (more)
How to Play Piquet -- Includes a pretty detailed description of play, as well as several more-recent variations. (more)
Dagonell on Tag Games -- (more)
David Parlett on Noddy -- Nicely detailed description, including some history (more)
Dagonell on Quoits and Horseshoes -- (more)
Dwyle Flunking at the Virtual Museum -- Based on the Brueghel painting. (more)
A description of Kaiserspiel -- A descendant of Karnoeffel, still played in the modern day (more)
Roman Board Games -- Wally J. Kowalski's reconstructions of various pre-period games. (more)
A preliminary reconstruction of Maw by Glenn Overby -- Dead page -- this pointer is to the Wayback Machine. (Please support the Wayback Machine -- it is an invaluable service to all researchers.) (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)
Low Company reconstruction of Ticktack -- Reconstruction by Alessandro the Storyteller, with help from Justin du Coeur (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Laugh and Lie Down -- (more)
A reconstruction from the Avacal Games Guild -- (more)
Michel's reconstruction of Gleek -- An in-depth PDF about Gleek (more)
Discussion on The History of Chess -- (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)
Backgammon Galore on Tabula -- (more)
Michel Wolffauer on Chess of the Four Seasons -- A nice concise writeup on how to play. (more)
Description at The History of Chess -- (more)
Le Jeu de Trictrac -- A substantial page in French, focused on Trictrac. (more)
David Whittaker's reconstruction of Primero -- This link is via the Wayback Machine. (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)
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)
The Asia Society on Sugoroku -- Brief, but useful. (more)
Jeff Johnston's reconstruction of One-and-Thirty and Bone-Ane -- (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Picket -- (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (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)
Lady Gwir ferch John on Noddy -- (more)
Dagonell on Gluckshaus -- (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)
Description at Chess Variants -- (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Gleek -- (more)
Description from the British Chess Variants Society -- Mostly a little bit of analysis of the game. (more)
Parlett on Ombre -- (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)
Norse Games -- An interesting article from Ravensgard. (more)
Abbas Agraphicus -- The Hnefatafl-focused blog of Alessandro Arzani (more)
Board Game Studies -- The main journal of board games research, recently (2014) rebooted as an online journal. Currently run by Ludus, a Portugese games organization. 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)

Description on The History of Chess -- (more)
Backgammon Galore on Irish -- (more)
Wareham Forge on Hnefetafl -- Includes a bunch of links. (more)
Modar's reconstruction of 2-player Alouette -- Based on work by Brusten de Bearsul (more)
Tali at the Roman Board Games site -- URL via the Wayback Machine. (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 Gameball -- (more)
Eachna's Celtic Knucklebones Page -- Has some nice practical information about crafting early sorts of dice, and a concise description of the Roman dicing game Tali. (more)
Michel Wolffauer on Hopscotch -- (more)
Dagonell's description -- (more)
Galleron's reconstructed Pochspiel board -- Posted by Master Galleron de Cressy on DeviantArt. (more)
Michael Wolffauer on Poch -- (more)
YouTube video teaching Latrunculi -- (more)
Mats Winther's Board Game page -- Via the Wayback Machine. (more)
Jeff Suzuki's reconstruction of Primero -- (more)
Susan Granquist's page on Tafl -- A relatively brief description. (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)
Gluckhaus at The Reverend's Musings -- A good quick description of the game, with a little history and illustrations of several boards. (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- (more)
Description at The History of Chess -- (more)
Michel Wolffauer's handout for his Go class -- PDF, three pages (more)
A brief description of several games, at Tattershall Arms -- (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)
Gwyddbwyll reconstruction from Y Camamseriad -- A nicely detailed article on the Gwyddbwyll and Towlbrwdd, which may or may not be the same game. (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- Includes a dicing variant. (more)
Michel's reconstruction of Losing Loadum -- PDF (more)
Mats Winther's Description -- URL via the Wayback Machine. (more)
Dagonell on Kubb -- (more)
Balls! -- A general page on the manufacture of game balls and some of the games played with them in period. (more)
Dagonell on Rithmomachy -- (more)
Laugh and Lie Down Cheat Sheet -- A one-page PDF summary, adapted by Michel from Justin's reconstruction (more)
An alternate version on Chess Variants -- (more)
Merels at the Museum of Games -- (more)
Period-style description of Irish -- From the Ace's Boke. Note that this is a modern writeup in period style! (more)
Blind Man's Buff at the Virtual Museum -- Based on the Brueghel painting. (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Dagonell on Hazard -- (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)
16th century Rhythmomachy -- A reconstruction of the later form of the game described in Fulke. (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)
James Wickson's reconstruction of early Tarot -- (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)
Mats Winther on Fox and Geese -- Notes several setup variations. (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Flor -- (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)
Parlett on Penneech -- (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Justin on Irish -- (more)
Trondheim Hnefatafl Board Fragment -- Some notes about a relatively recently found board, and some thoughts about its possible implications. (more)
Dagonell on Goose -- A concise description, plus an outline for a live-action version to play with kids. (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Irving Finkel's detailed reconstruction of the game -- A more-than-typically detailed writeup of the game, the available source material, and how to interpret it. (more)
Description on The History of Chess -- (more)
Justin's preliminary reconstruction of Ruff and Honours -- (more)
Rhythmomachy Basics -- An introduction to the common concepts of the game (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- Includes a Zillions implementation. (more)
Modar's reconstruction of As Nas -- Based on work by Brusten de Bearsul (more)
Mats Winther on Tablut -- Via the Wayback Machine. Includes a Zillions implementation. (more)
Dagonell on Tablero -- (more)
A brief description of Primero on the Landsknecht page -- (more)
Parlett on Maw -- (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)
Michel Wolffauer's reconstruction of El Mundo -- PDF, two pages (more)
Gambling Games -- Baron Aurddeilen-ap-Robet provides a likely reconstruction based on other games of this period. (more)