The image of a Viking often conjures up longships, raids, and fierce battles. But these Norse travelers weren’t just warriors; they were shrewd traders, explorers, and settlers who reached far beyond Scandinavia, from the icy North Atlantic to the glittering Byzantine Empire. And wherever they went, they didn’t just exchange silver and furs—they exchanged culture, including the fascinating pastime of games.
Imagine a Viking hearth or a ship deck on a long voyage. After a hard day’s work, the travelers needed a way to unwind, keep their minds sharp, and pass the time. While they had their own popular native board games, like Hnefatafl (a strategic “King’s Table” game), their journeys exposed them to exciting new challenges. Here are a few games they might have encountered and adopted as they sailed, raided, and traded across the medieval world.
Across the Continent: New Games from New Lands
The Vikings’ expansion in the 9th and 10th centuries brought them into contact with three major cultural spheres: Francia (Western Europe), the Rus’ lands (Eastern Europe), and Constantinople (The Byzantine Empire). Each region offered a treasure trove of new pastimes.
The Sophistication of Francia: Chess and Tables
When Vikings began trading and raiding along the rivers and coastlines of what is now France and the British Isles, they encountered the Frankish kingdoms. The courts and monasteries there were connected to the Mediterranean world and its intellectual traditions.
- Chess While the Vikings had their own strategy games, they likely encountered early forms of Shatranj, the predecessor to modern Chess, which had made its way to Western Europe via the Islamic world and Spain. This sophisticated game of war and strategy would have appealed deeply to their tactical minds. We have a spectacular, tangible link to this era in the form of the Lewis chessmen, a collection of highly detailed, elaborately carved walrus ivory pieces discovered in the Outer Hebrides. These magnificent pieces are a powerful reminder that the Norse were not only playing the game but were also producing or trading for luxury game sets of unparalleled artistry.
- Backgammon (or Tables): Games of the “Tables” family—ancestors of modern Backgammon—were incredibly popular across the Roman and Frankish world. These fast-paced games of combined luck and strategy, played with dice and counters, offered an accessible and enjoyable challenge for all social levels.
A Modern Game for the Viking Mind
While the Vikings were limited to the games of their era—board games, dice, and simple dexterity challenges—one can easily imagine their enthusiasm for a quicker, more aggressive game. If a modern card game like Pusoy Dos (Big Two) had existed, it would surely have captivated them. This competitive, trick-taking game demands both quick strategic thinking and the boldness to deploy one’s best cards at the right moment. The challenge of emptying your hand before your opponent relies on both cunning and aggression—traits the Vikings knew well. For those curious about the kind of fast-paced strategy that would have appealed to a Viking’s competitive spirit, a simple Pusoy Guide can explain the rules of this contemporary favourite.
East Meets West: Games from the Rus’ and Constantinople
Viking groups known as the Varangians famously traveled the Eastern trade routes, navigating the rivers of Eastern Europe down to the two great capitals of the East.
The Riches of Constantinople
The city of Constantinople (modern Istanbul) was the unrivaled cultural and commercial hub of the Byzantine Empire. Varangian Guard mercenaries, often recruited from Norse lands, spent years within the city’s walls and certainly adopted its customs.
The Byzantines played a myriad of games, and their culture was directly linked to ancient Roman and Greek traditions. The Vikings would have seen versions of Roman strategy games like Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum or Tabula—games that involve moving pieces based on the roll of dice, closely related to the Backgammon games seen in the West. More importantly, they would have been immersed in a culture that valued intricate carving and beautiful game sets, potentially inspiring their own crafts back home.
Along the Rivers of the Rus’
Traveling through the vast forests and steppes of the Rus’ lands (where the earliest Eastern Slavic states formed), the Vikings formed strong trade connections, eventually founding major centers like Kyiv and Novgorod. Here, they would have seen and shared simple, everyday games.
- Knucklebone Games (Astragali): While popular everywhere, they were incredibly common in the Rus’ lands, inherited from ancient Greek and Roman traditions. Playing with animal knucklebones used both as dice and as pieces in dexterity games was a simple, easily transported pastime.
- Simple Dice Games: Every culture had them, but the constant interaction and trade meant the Vikings were likely introduced to different regional rules and even new styles of dice, perhaps adopting games that favored pure chance for a quick gamble.
The Vikings were far more than just raiders; they were cultural sponges. Their sagas mention gambling, their archaeological sites yield gaming pieces, and their journeys ensured that the games they played were a fascinating mosaic of Scandinavian tradition and the global games they discovered on their incredible travels.
