Reconstruction

Referenced from:

David Parlett on Noddy -- Nicely detailed description, including some history (more)
Michael Wolffauer on Poch -- (more)
YouTube video teaching Ludus Latrunculorum -- (more)
Merels in the Ace's Boke -- Period-style text, but not actually period. (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)
Parlett on Reversis -- (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)
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)
Justin's reconstruction of Laugh and Lie Down -- (more)
Jeff Suzuki's reconstruction of Primero -- (more)
Modar's reconstruction of All Fours -- (more)
Mats Winther on Tablut -- Via the Wayback Machine. Includes a Zillions implementation. (more)
Dagonell on Hazard -- (more)
Traditional Game Rules -- James Masters' site, some of which is indexed by game here. Some of this is period, but not all. (more)
Hazard on the Landsknecht page -- (more)
Low Company reconstruction of Ticktack -- Reconstruction by Alessandro the Storyteller, with help from Justin du Coeur (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 The History of Chess -- (more)
Modar's reconstruction of 4-player Alouette -- Based on work from Brusten de Bearsul (more)
A reconstruction from the Avacal Games Guild -- (more)
Justin's reconstructions of Primero -- Covering English and Italian separately. (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)
Modar on Bocce -- (more)
Justin's description of Early French Tarot -- Largely based on Michael Dummett's The Game of Tarot (more)
Bowls at the Virtual Museum -- Based on the Brueghel painting. (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)
Mats Winther's Board Game page -- Via the Wayback Machine. (more)
The Asia Society on Sugoroku -- Brief, but useful. (more)
The Loop Within Circular Three Men's Morris -- An analysis of the possible situations within this ancient Morris variant. (more)
Dagonell on Quoits and Horseshoes -- (more)
Mats Winther on Gala -- Via the Wayback Machine. (more)
Trondheim Hnefatafl Board Fragment -- Some notes about a relatively recently found board, and some thoughts about its possible implications. (more)
Dagonell on Kubb -- (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Parlett on Laugh and Lie Down -- (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)
Justin's reconstruction of Ruff and Trump -- (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)

YouTube video teaching Gluckhaus -- (more)
How to Play Ruff and Honours -- Described on their Whist page, as a variant. (more)
A brief description of several games, at Tattershall Arms -- (more)
Rhythmomachy Basics -- An introduction to the common concepts of the game (more)
Roman Board Games -- Wally J. Kowalski's reconstructions of various pre-period games. (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Cacho -- (more)
Dagonell on Tablero -- (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)
Susan Granquist's page on Tafl -- A relatively brief description. (more)
Parlett on Penneech -- (more)
Abbas Agraphicus -- The Hnefatafl-focused blog of Alessandro Arzani (more)
Dagonell on Morris Games -- (more)
The Viking Answer Lady on Tafl Games -- A lovely, detailed article on the Tafl family in general, outlining the major variants. (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)
16th century Rhythmomachy -- A reconstruction of the later form of the game described in Fulke. (more)
Ringing the Bull at Traditional Games -- (more)
Modar on Fox and Geese -- (more)
David Whittaker's reconstruction of Primero -- This link is via the Wayback Machine. (more)
Modar on Game of the Goose -- Illustrated with the Kadon Enterprises board. (more)
Dagonell on Goose -- A concise description, plus an outline for a live-action version to play with kids. (more)
Modar on Pall-Mall -- Includes a speculative reconstruction of "Ground Billiards". (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Pechigonga -- (more)
How to Play Cribbage -- Includes several more-recent variations. (more)
Balls! -- A general page on the manufacture of game balls and some of the games played with them in period. (more)
Rithmomachia on Game Cabinet -- (more)
Dagonell on Gameball -- (more)
Blind Man's Buff at the Virtual Museum -- Based on the Brueghel painting. (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Gleek -- (more)
A Medieval Battle of Numbers -- An overview of Rhythmomachy by Peter Mebben, one of the more serious students of the game. (more)
A brief description on the Landsknecht page -- (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Period-style Elizabethan Rhythmomachy Rules -- An Ace's Boke rewrite of my reconstruction of 16th century Rhythmomachy (more)
Description on The History of Chess -- (more)
A period-style description of Piquet -- Not actually period -- a modern writeup of the game, using Elizabethan-style English (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)
Galleron's reconstructed Pochspiel board -- Posted by Master Galleron de Cressy on DeviantArt. (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 Chess Variants -- (more)
How to Play Piquet -- Includes a pretty detailed description of play, as well as several more-recent variations. (more)
Period-style description of Irish -- From the Ace's Boke. Note that this is a modern writeup in period style! (more)
YouTube video teaching Latrunculi -- (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Description from Abstract Games -- Discussion of Alquerques and a bunch of similar games. (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)
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)
An alternate version on Chess Variants -- (more)
Modar's reconstruction of Tarok -- An Eastern European variant. (more)
Medieval European Chess at The History of Chess -- A very good, not-too-long description of core SCA-period chess. (more)
Michel Wolffauer's handout on Tafl -- PDF, 2 pages (more)
Laugh and Lie Down Cheat Sheet -- A one-page PDF summary, adapted by Michel from Justin's reconstruction (more)
Le Jeu de Trictrac -- A substantial page in French, focused on Trictrac. (more)
Justin on Irish -- (more)
Period-style description of Tafl -- From the Ace's Boke. This is a modern reconstruction, written in period style. (more)
A brief description of Primero on the Landsknecht page -- (more)
Dagonell's description -- (more)
1on1 Backgammon on Tabula -- (more)
Backgammon Galore on Fayles -- (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)
Description at Chess Variants -- Includes a dicing variant. (more)
Inn and Inn from the Ace's Boke -- Period-style text (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Picket -- (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- Includes a Zillions implementation. (more)
How to Play Whist -- Includes a number of variations from various times. (more)
Modar's reconstruction of As Nas -- Based on work by Brusten de Bearsul (more)
YouTube video teaching Three Men's Morris -- (more)
Michel's reconstruction of Gleek -- An in-depth PDF about Gleek (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)
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)
Lady Gwir ferch John on Noddy -- (more)
Fidchell in Dreoilin's Weblog -- A discussion of the game of Fidchell, plus a lot of cultural background. (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 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)
Michel Wolffauer on Chess of the Four Seasons -- A nice concise writeup on how to play. (more)
James Wickson's reconstruction of early Tarot -- (more)
Jeff Johnston's reconstruction of One-and-Thirty and Bone-Ane -- (more)
YouTube video teaching Hnefatafl -- Slightly clumsy presentation style, but useful for folks who learn best from a live presentation. (more)
Dagonell on Gluckshaus -- (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)
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 Seven-Sided Backgammon -- One of my prouder achievements, this reconstruction has caught on pretty widely. (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 on Chess Variants -- (more)
Modar on Fierges -- (more)
Description from the British Chess Variants Society -- Mostly a little bit of analysis of the game. (more)
Period-style intro to Rhythmomachy -- From the Ace's Boke (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- (more)
Alternate reconstruction of Grande Acedrex -- A very detailed reconstruction that goes back to the Alfonso MS and looks at it carefully. (more)
The Game Cabinet on Senet -- Includes a couple of different reconstructions. (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
Hazard on the Tattershall Arms page -- (more)
Justin's preliminary reconstruction of Ruff and Honours -- (more)
Shogi Rules -- A nice clear description of how to play Shogi, with lots of pictures. (more)
Backgammon Galore on Doublets -- (more)
Michel's reconstruction of Losing Loadum -- PDF (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)
Parlett on Karnoeffel -- (more)
Bassetta, A Renaissance Italian Card Game -- (more)
Description at The History of Chess -- (more)
Modar on Wari -- (more)
Justin's description of Bryncir -- Based on Brusten's reconstruction (more)
Dagonell on Rithmomachy -- (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Truc -- (more)
Description at the History of Chess -- Not a terribly detailed reconstruction. (more)
Parlett on Losing Lodam -- (more)
Michel Wolffauer on Hopscotch -- (more)
Michel Wolffauer's reconstruction of El Mundo -- PDF, two pages (more)
Modar's description -- (more)
Parlett on Ombre -- (more)
Michel Wolffauer's writeup on Tarot -- PDF, adapted from Justin's version (more)
YouTube video teaching Nine Men's Morris -- (more)
David Parlett's reconstruction of Gleek -- (more)
Rules to Goose at Kadon Enterprises -- (more)
Dwyle Flunking at the Virtual Museum -- Based on the Brueghel painting. (more)
Tablero da Gucci at the Game Cabinet -- This sounds like a pretty authoritative description of the drinking game. (more)
Dagonell on Hopscotch -- (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's description of Boules -- (more)
Merels at the Museum of Games -- (more)
Dagonell on Dwyle Flonking -- (more)
Dagonell on Teetotums -- He reasons that the game is probably similar to Dreidels. (more)
Parlett on Maw -- (more)
Modar's reconstruction of Basset -- Based on work by Brusten de Bearsul (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)
Sten Helmfrid on Tafl Games -- Nominally focused on Hnefetafl, but really a fine, deeply detailed overview of the entire family. (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)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
YouTube video teaching Jactus -- (more)
Dagonell on Tag Games -- (more)
Description at The History of Chess -- Goes into more detail about this game than most sites. (more)
A possible Bowling variant -- From the Virtual Museum, based on the Brueghel painting. (more)
Description on The History of Chess -- (more)
Justin on Dublets -- (more)
Wareham Forge on Hnefetafl -- Includes a bunch of links. (more)
Mats Winther on Fox and Geese -- Notes several setup variations. (more)
Dagonell on Knucklebones -- Includes Gomme's description of "Fivestones". (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- (more)
The Battle of Numbers -- An overview of Rhythmomachy, focused on the mathematical aspects, published by the American Mathematical Society. (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Noddy and Early Cribbage -- (more)
Parlett on Costly Colors -- Goes into some detail about what little we know about the game (more)
David Levy's Trictrac Homepage -- Via the Wayback Machine. (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Flor -- (more)
Dagonell on Curling -- (more)
Justin's reconstruction of Bone-Ace -- (more)
YouTube video teaching Duodecima Scripta -- (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)
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)
Mats Winther's description -- Via the Wayback Machine. (more)
Justin on Tafl -- Largely adapted from Murray and Ragnar. (more)
Description on Chess Variants -- (more)
A brief description on the Landsknecht info site -- (more)
Tali at the Roman Board Games site -- URL via the Wayback Machine. (more)
Hnefatafl World Championship -- Run by the Fetlar organization, and gives a bit of info about the game itself (more)
Description on The History of Chess -- (more)
Ruben's reconstruction of Rentoy -- (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)
Michael Wolffauer on Wari -- (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)
Michael Wolffauer on Trappola -- (more)
Description at The History of Chess -- (more)
Description at Chess Variants -- (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)
Modar's reconstruction of 2-player Alouette -- Based on work by Brusten de Bearsul (more)
Modar's reconstruction of Karnoffel -- Based on work by Brusten de Bearsul (more)
Backgammon Galore on Tabula -- (more)
Norse Games -- An interesting article from Ravensgard. (more)
Discussion on The History of Chess -- (more)
Dagonell's discussion of Bowling -- (more)
Backgammon Galore on Irish -- (more)
Modar on Tablut -- (more)
Dagonell on Shove Groat -- (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)
A description of Kaiserspiel -- A descendant of Karnoeffel, still played in the modern day (more)
Mats Winther's Description -- URL via the Wayback Machine. (more)
Backgammon Galore on Trictrac -- (more)
Margaret's reconstruction of Piquet -- (more)
Michel Wolffauer's handout for his Go class -- PDF, three pages (more)
The Game Cabinet on Tafl Games -- An overview of the family, including some of the more distant cousins, Seega and Latrunculi. (more)
Smithsonian Learning Center on Hnefetafl -- (more)