My boys love costumes.  They dress up all the time!  My youngest one practically lives in costumes 7 days a week.

The day after Halloween many shops will mark costumes down as much as 75%! You can often find great deals.  Last year after Halloween I picked up several inexpensive costumes for Christmas gifts.  If you’ll need costumes to go along with something you are studying this year (cowboys, kings and queens, knights….) this is the time to pick them up!

I also bought some Gingerbread “castles” last year…they were meant to be haunted houses or something, but we used them to make medieval gingerbread castles when we were studying the Middle Ages. Just don’t use the orange and black frosting…make your own.

I got this idea from someone else’s blog, but unfortunately I can’t remember where I saw it!  We had lots of fun with this one.

First, we printed out castle templates so that the kids could assemble their own castle.  I printed out the black and white ones, and the kids colored them creatively.  This was a simple activity, that required a few printouts, some colored pencils, cardboard (we used old cereal boxes), toilet paper tubes and glue.  The castles did not take long to assemble…maybe an hour to make 3 castles (from start to finish, with most of the time spent coloring.)

Next, the kids placed their castles on a large sheet of butcher paper.  I wish I had had poster board on hand, but I didn’t….so the paper had to do.

I read a book about castles to them, pausing at the end of each page so that they could decide if they wanted to “add” anything from the reading to their own castle.  I had to do the writing for the youngest ones.  They made little drawings on the paper to indicate buildings, weapons, and supplies, and then whispered to me what each drawing meant.

I helped them to label their drawings, and then read the next page.  We went back and forth like this, pausing after each page, so they could decide what their castle would need to withstand a siege.

After we were done, I used a printout from this Castle Siege game which prompted them to tell what people would be present in their castle.  Those names were written down (king, blacksmith, peasants, etc.).  They had one last opportunity to mention any supplies, animals, food items, people, buildings, etc. that they needed before the game began.  Once the game started, no one could add anything to their castle.

The Castle Siege game has a bunch of cards that you print and cut out.  Each player draws a card and adds or subtracts points from their total score, based on how well they outfitted their castle.  For example, they add two points if they remembered to include a dungeon, and subtract two points if they forgot.  Once they’ve gone through all the cards, the game ends and the player with the highest point total wins.

I wanted a chance to play, too, but it didn’t seem very fair, because I knew exactly what everyone else had put in their castle, and what the cards called for.  We agreed that I would use our Fairy Tale Castle puzzle, receiving or losing points for whatever the puzzle creators remembered to put into the puzzle.  Let’s just say that the Fairy Tale Castle wasn’t designed very well for a siege, but it was fun anyway.

This puzzle, by the way, is a remnant from the days when I believed that all boys should have gender-inclusive toys.  No one plays with it in this house now-a-days.  For more on that, please read my post about Boys and Weapons!

This game was fun, and didn’t take very long to play.  The longest part of this entire exercise was reading about the castle and getting the boys to label it.  But they absolutely loved doing that part, and they remembered so much more than if we had only read it.  Thinking about what they would need, labeling and listing everything, and then finding out through the game what was missing was very instructive to them, and they won’t soon forget this material.

I’m so happy we took the time to do this!  It was well worth it.

My children really enjoy it when I can find a great game online to supplement our history studies. Here are a few we like:

We learned how to play Senet when we studied Ancient Egypt. This online version looks somewhat realistic, so you may want to check it out, especially if you are thinking of making your own Senet game at home.  But it is a little confusing, so for online play, I prefer this version from the BBC, which teaches the rules of this ancient board game and lets you play against the computer.  You will need Shockwave to play the BBC version.

Egyptian Tomb is more involved than the previous game. Kids get clues to solve a mystery by answering questions, doing simple map work, deciphering hieroglyphs and other exercises. There is some teaching about Egyptian gods and beliefs on this site. This site requires some reading ability. It’s not too hard as the answers to most questions are provided somewhere on the site. It’s a fun way to reinforce what you may already be learning about Ancient Egypt.

Not exactly a game, but this Egyptian Calculator is interesting…

Check out BBC’s kids game called Pyramid Challenge to see if you’ve got what it takes to be a pyramid builder.

They haven’t played it yet, but I know my boys will enjoy this embalming game, which teaches about how mummies were made.  It’s kind of gross, but pretty educational, and they aren’t squeamish types…

My boys absolutely LOVE Civilization and other “builder” games.  Nile online is a similar concept, free to play, and requires no downloads (only registration).  They haven’t played it yet, but I’ll post an update here once they have a chance to rate it.

I found a few of the Egyptian games in this post through the site Ancient Egyptian Games.  They have so many!  Hoping to get some good apps for my iPod through them, too.

Last year when we studied the Mayans we played this online Mayan Ball game. It was also neat to watch this brief video re-enactment of a Mayan Ball game.

Jacobites the 1745 Rebellion begins with a very brief video, and poses the question, “Could you have done a better job if you were the leader of the Jacobites?” As kids read information and learn more about the people involved they are asked to make decisions. Some responses prompt video clips of battle re-enactments. Definitely click the “funky” button to view this in flash. It’s much more interactive than the simple site.

Scottish Wars of Independence is an online board game. Kids spin and move around the board. Every square they land on opens up a fact file about this time period. Kids choose the 6 events they feel to be the most important and add them to a list. At the end of the game they find out whether they chose wisely or not.

Vikings in Scotland gives kids opportunities to answer questions to complete game tasks in “Build a longship” and “Build a longhouse”. Some answers are provided on video clips (at least in the Flash site) for kids to watch after they answer. The more kids know, the faster their boat/longhouse is built. There is also another game on the site, where kids try and sail their longboat around a map, accomplishing various tasks along the way.

We really enjoy the viking board game Hnefetafl. This site provides English rules partway down the page, or click here to read the rules I wrote out (which may be easier to understand!) To play this game online, click on one of the boards displayed. Each one yields a slightly different variation of the game. Don’t forget to click English on the board game page or you’ll be playing in Danish.

BBC Schools has lots of games, including some games for Modern Times.

I like Scotland During the Second World War. My 2nd grader has played this and he enjoyed it. Kids pretend to be a spy, gathering information to help them progress through the game.

My kids have not played their WW1 game Trench Warfare yet, but I suspect they will like it. It does require quite a lot of reading, but you are able to choose which weapons you want to fight with and then see a cartoon video of the chosen weapon in action. Then you are briefed as to how well you did and why. This game doesn’t teach much, other than the pros and cons of various battle tactics in WW1, but it will probably be a hit with boys.

I’ve heard great things about the BBC’s Dance Mat Typing but my kids have not used this yet, either. Nevertheless, I wanted to try it out. And it’s great! Seeing is believing. We will definitely be using this game.

For more great online games, check out the list of interactive history games offered for kids by the BBC.

We really enjoyed the book Make Your Own Coat of Arms by Catherine Daly-Weir.

The stencils enabled everyone to feel pleased with the quality of their work!

Highly Recommended!!

It took a bit of doing to pull the costumes for this feast together. But it really wasn’t too hard. My boys already had a good bit of what they needed in their costume bin.

Our oldest son has a Scottish William Wallace Claymore sword from Vision Forum that he wanted to wear to the feast. I give him a lot of credit, as he really got into his part. He wore a kilt and spoke in a Scottish accent all night.

Two of the boys needed pants for their knight outfits. I was able to find a pair of footless, gray woolen leggings at Goodwill for one of them, and the other boy wore a pair of gray baseball pants. I cut off all the beltloops and the pocket on the back. It looked a bit rough, but his tunic hung down over the top, so it didn’t matter. Their hoods and shirts were things we’ve collected over the years. If your boys don’t have a knight costume, put one on your shopping list this Christmas. These costumes are worn constantly, not only when we are studying the Middle Ages.

Our youngest son dressed as a squire. We had a perfect costume for it but he lost it a day or two before the feast. You know he had to wear it every day for a week, leading up to the feast! So when the time came, we had to grab something on the fly for his squire robe. He wasn’t in it long…at the beginning of the feast, he was knighted and did a quick costume change. We pretended that the feast and the jousting tournament were in celebration of his knighting.

I was able to find a dress for myself in the prom section at Goodwill…for $5 I found a perfect Queen dress. The Lord must have put it there just for me. I was so excited when I found it! A long wig that I braided finished the look. The veil I was wearing was just a lace curtain valance that I tied around my pony tail in the back to conceal my own hair.

My husband was the hardest to costume. At 6’4″ tall, it’s hard enough to find clothes for him anyway! Goodwill to the rescue again. I bought a set of purple twin sized satin sheets that I adapted as a King costume. The flat sheet made a wonderful King’s cape for him.

And I found a way to create some makeshift pantaloons by folding the fitted sheet in half lengthwise and wrapping it around his waist. I pinned it in the back like a skirt, with the elastic (fitted part) down near his knees. The loose fabric was then gathered at the knees and pinned again to make a kind of pantaloon. It wasn’t ideal because it looked a little skirt-like (I did use extra pins to try and gather it in the middle to minimize this effect)…but it took just 5 minutes and he was a good sport about it. He wore shorts underneath (for comfort and modesty) and I think it fit the bill.

His sword was also from Vision Forum. They have many beautiful swords for sale. Each of our boys receives one as a special gift sometime during their 9th year, to commemorate the fact that he is half way grown.

Yet another use for my wig! I’ve worn it for Japanese Tea Party, 60s day (unbraided) and now Medieval Feast.

We could not find crowns, though! I went to several stores and no one had them. I’m so glad they didn’t! One of the girls from the family who joined us figured out a way to create the crowns from scratch using beads and copper wire. I think they were beautiful, and her creativity was one of my favorite parts of the feast.

Menu:

Wassail
Selection of Cheeses
Bread
Potato and Leek Soup
Pheasant from the King’s Forest (aka Roasted Chicken Legs)
Wild Boar (aka Ham)
apple tarts
gingerbread

Recipes:

For the wassail, we just used warmed apple cider. You could put some mulling spices in it if you want to.

Leek and Potato Soup

One bundle of leeks (about 1 cup diced)
One 16 oz. box of chicken broth
2 cups shredded hash brown potatoes or peeled, cubed potatoes
1/2 cup butter
one large onion, diced
1/2 cup flour
2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste,
chives to garnish (optional)

Wash the leeks thoroughly. Cut off the green part of the leeks as well as the root end. Remove the outer layer. Dice the white part that remains. You are going to put it in a blender after it is cooked, so the leeks can just be rough chopped.

Boil the potatoes and leeks in the chicken broth until soft and tender. In a separate pan, melt the butter. Saute the onions in the butter until golden. Stir the flour into the onions and cook until bubbly, stirring constantly. Slowly add the milk to the flour and onion mixture, stirring to combine. Now add the onion mixture to the vegetables and broth, stirring well.

Pour contents of the pan into a blender and puree. You may need to work in batches. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add additional broth if the soup seems too thick or starchy.

Variation: This is my go-to cream of vegetable soup recipe. You can substitute broccoli, cauliflower, or other vegetables for the potatoes and leeks. I love this recipe!

Apple tarts

This recipe was a bit of a flop…I tried to make little apple tarts by cutting pie crust into rounds with a biscuit cutter and making tiny, hand-held pies. There was just too much crust for the amount of filling that could fit on a little round. If you want to make tarts, I suggest using a flakier pastry, such as puff pastry. Alternatively, use your favorite apple pie recipe, making it one day ahead of time so that it has time to firm up. If you aren’t using plates or forks, you do NOT want an overly juicy pie!

Roasted Chicken Legs

Brush chicken legs with Olive Oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast on a baking pan in the oven at 400 F for 30 minutes. Before removing from the oven, broil for 2 minutes to brown the chicken legs. I found a wonderful roasted chicken leg recipe here.

We celebrated our Medieval Feast last night! Usually our feasts only involve our family, but we did something on a slightly larger scale this time. Another family joined in, as well as my dad.

The children from both families met earlier this week and prepared a program to present during the feast. It was wonderfully entertaining! A squire was knighted, and some of the guests shared news about Chaucer and his Canterbury Tales, the Battle of Crecy, and other “current events”. There was even a tournament involving archery, sword play and jousting.

To start the evening off, we set out some medieval games. Although chess and checkers were available, the young lords preferred our homemade version of the Viking game Hnefetafl. The boys didn’t play for long, though. They were too enamored with their costumes, swords and shields to sit still playing games.

The children had the wonderful idea of using shields from the Dollar Tree to decorate the feasting hall. I used a strip of painters tape on the handle of each shield to attach them to the wall. It wasn’t that strong, and a few of the shields did fall, but it was quick and easy and most of them stayed put.

In some cases it was easy to wrap the tape around the handle of the shield and a knob on the hutch or a hanging sconce, and this worked quite well. The painters tape was easily removed afterward with no marks. The shields were very lightweight and only cost $1 apiece. My boys will have fun playing with them now that our feast is over, and everyone loved our beautiful feasting hall!

I also took some battle axes that we had in our weapon bin and hung them, crossed, on a plate hanger that normally adorns our dining room wall.

My husband had a linen cloth with a knight on it, which he has been saving since he was a child. This was easily hung with more painters tape. I cut the strips to form a frame for the cloth, and we fancied it to be a medieval tapestry.

It is almost Halloween, so the Dollar Tree had some other decorations that were meant to be spooky but which I felt could double for this occasion. I bought one package of old, creepy bottle labels and applied one titled Ye Olde Spider Venom to a bottle of Barq’s Root beer. Our Viking guest brought this with him to the feast. The boys thought someone should be sentenced to death-by-spider venom, but instead, we let the official cup bearer taste it for purity. It passed muster, so it was served.

When the cup bearer felt sick later that night (ostensibly from overindulging in Wild Boar), the King was quick to blame the spider venom. He immediately began searching for a replacement cup bearer in case the first one didn’t pull through!

I also set some candles and a simple vining floral decoration on the head table as a centerpiece. The King sat in a very throne-like chair at the head of the table.

We used individual type-writer key letters to make the placecards. Part of the program was a brief discussion about Johann Gutenberg’s wonderful “new” invention, the printing press, and a bit of bragging about how the King purchased a set of printed placecards just for this occasion.

I’ll explain more about the menu in my next post, but for plates we purchased flat sandwich wraps to use as trenchers. Everyone got a knife and a spoon, and we assembled a collection of chunky mugs for our glassware.

To be authentic, we ate with our fingers and did not use napkins. I did put a dark-colored tablecloth on the table, and I confess to using it a few times to wipe my fingers.

I’ve got lots more to share about this wonderful feast which will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of our school year! Upcoming posts will include our recipes and how we pulled the costumes together.

No feast has been more highly anticipated in our home than the Viking Feast. My husband can trace his Norwegian heritage all the way back to Harald Hardrade, the Norwegian King who was killed in 1066 in the Battle of Stamford Bridge….and beyond. My sons take great pride in their Viking blood.

My mother-in-law makes a pilgrimage to Wisconsin every year to eat Lutefisk. In olden-times, Norwegians ate a fish that was so hard and bony, they had to use Lye to soften it. I’m not sure how they make it now, but everyone says it is an acquired taste (i.e. it tastes horrible). Needless to say, we didn’t have that on the menu.

We do eat Lefse every Christmas, which is a tortilla-like Norwegian flat bread spread with butter and brown sugar. I didn’t have that on hand for this feast, and I doubt it was around in Viking times anyway.

We did not have costumes for this feast, either. Sorry! The white sheets used in our Egyptian Feast, Greek Feast and Roman Feast could not be adapted for the purpose, and we didn’t have time to pull anything else together.

My Vikings enjoyed this feast. We used or Hnefetafl Board as a centerpiece.

Want to know what we did have? Keep reading for the menu and recipes. I relied heavily on The Viking Answer Lady and on a PDF file from Tjurslakter titled Viking and Anglo-Saxon Recipes for my information about what people ate during Viking Times, as well as for some of these recipes.

We learned that Vikings typically only ate twice a day, morning and evening, and their fare was simple.

The Menu:
non-alcoholic, homemade Mead
Rye bread with salted butter
soft cheese
Stewed beef
Norwegian pancake with berry sauce
Stewed fruits with yogurt

The children wanted to taste Mead, so I searched the internet for a non-alcoholic version. I found a few. Here’s the recipe I used, taken from the Group Recipes site:

Soft Mead
4 cups water
1 cup honey
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 lemon

The instructions said to boil this but I was in a rush, so I did it in the microwave. It turned out fine. I put the water, honey and spices into a dish and heated it until it boiled. Stir in the honey until it dissolves, and squeeze the lemon into it. The instructions I found said you can also use orange slices, and that the drink should be cooled and strained. We did not strain it, and we drank it warm. It was yummy!

Easier Mead alternatives

Another recipe that sounds even simpler called for 2 parts apple juice, 4 parts honey and 6 parts water. Mix in a pan, bring to a boil and let simmer for half an hour, then cool and strain.

Research indicated that the Vikings also drank herbal concoctions. Chamomile or Rose hip tea might be a good choice.

Stewed Beef

For the stewed beef, I simply put chunks of stew meat into my crock pot, along with some root vegetables and onions. My kids like carrots, but turnips or parsnips would also do. I added a bit of water and a couple packages of stew flavoring, and set it on low for several hours.

Viking fun without the fuss!

I know it would have been more authentic in a giant kettle over the fire, but I try to keep most of our “feasts” something that is reasonably done on a regular school night, in the same time I might normally spend making dinner. The main point to keep in mind about Viking stew is that they did not have potatoes or tomatoes, so your stew shouldn’t have them either!

We purchased the rye bread and cheese. We used Brie, as our whole family loves it. We learned during our studies that the Vikings conquered quite a bit of territory, including part of France, so we felt fine about our choice.

I had told my husband to get Brie at the store, but the children wanted to buy Jarlsberg, which is a Norwegian cheese. Hubby bought the Brie anyway, certain that he should get “whatever mom wants”!

When they got home and told me about their shopping trip, I knew that the kids were right. To be more authentic, we should have had Jarlsberg. Those boys certainly do know their cheeses!

Dessert: Norwegian Pancake with Berries, and Summer Fruit, Honey and Hazelnut crumble with yogurt

Pancake with Berries (this recipe came from The Viking Answer Lady and is for four servings).

2/3 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup lingonberries (we used raspberries)

Turn the oven to 425F. Whisk the batter together without the butter and stir in the berries. Melt the butter in a heat resistant baking pan or oven proof skillet, and pour in the batter. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes or until the pancake has a nice color. Cut into pieces and serve with jam.

I doubled this recipe, and there was a lot left over. It took 45 minutes for the larger pancake to set. I didn’t think the kids would like it, as you could clearly taste the whole wheat flour, and there was no sugar in the recipe. I melted the jam in the microwave so it would pour onto the pancake like syrup. The kids loved it, though. So did my husband! Everyone wanted the leftovers the next day, and asked if I would make it again in the future.

Vikings in Anglo-Saxon Britain: Summer Fruit, Honey and Hazelnut Crumble Recipe from Viking and Anglo-Saxon recipes.

2 pounds mixed soft summer fruits (raspberries, lingonberries, strawberries, currants, cherries or similar)
honey or brown sugar (to taste)
3 oz. toasted hazelnuts
3 oz. whole wheat brown breadcrumbs

Put the fruits in a pan or in a microwave dish with about 1″ watr in the bottom. Cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes (microwave for 4 to 6 minutes on high), or until the fruits are soft without being totally mushy. Sweeten to taste with the honey or brown sugar.

Drain off the extra juice and save it to serve with the pudding. Chop the hazelnuts in a food processor, then mix them with the breadcrumbs. Pour the fruit into an over-safe dish and cover it with a thick layer of the nut mixture. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Serve with cream or plain yogurt and the warmed fruit juices.

We enjoyed this. I serve plain yogurt very often, flavored with a bit of brown sugar or honey and some fresh fruit, so this was not too unusual for us. I liked the way it tasted with the warm fruit. The kids enjoy it more without the nuts and crumbs.

One of our favorite activities while studying the Vikings was playing the game of Hnefetafl (pronounced Nef-uh-tah-full). Hnefetafl is a strategy game like chess, though much simpler to play. It simulates a Viking raid, with attackers trying to capture the King and defenders trying to protect him.

We made the game board years ago, using instructions from a previous curriculum. I tried in vain to find a board online that you could print…so I’m including instructions in this post about making your own. Don’t worry, it won’t be difficult!

Online Hnefetafl:

I’ve found a site where you can play online. Click on one of the game boards to play. This site is great, as it allows you to play against the computer, as either the attacker (black) or the defender (white), and it also allows you to do a two player game and play both sides. You can choose from an 11 x 11 board or a 9 x 9 board. Click on one of the boards to begin playing. Make sure that you click the word “English”, which you’ll see beside the board on the next screen, if you want the computer to prompt you in English instead of the default Danish!

They have the rules printed on their site, or you can read the rules I’ve written below.

Make your own Hnefetafl Board

It’s worth it to take 15 minutes to make your own board, because Hnefetafl is just that fun! My kids have gone back to it again and again. Games are over quickly and it’s a little bit addictive!

If you are great on the computer, you can design your own game board that way….otherwise, you’ll have to do it the old fashioned way.

You’ll need a square piece of posterboard, a ruler and some markers. The board is laid out similar to a checker or chess board, but with 121 squares (11 rows and 11 columns). Smaller and larger versions have been found in ruins, but 11 x 11 seems to be the most common. Use your ruler to mark off equal sized squares, 11 rows and 11 columns.

You’ll need 3 different colored markers to designate where the attackers, the defenders and the King call home.

Each of the four corners and the very center square should be colored the same (with a matching color or pattern, we’ll say blue for our purposes). These squares belong to the King. The center square is his throne and the 4 corner squares are his exit points to escape from the attackers.

Every square touching the center square, as well as the squares that are two squares away from the center in a straight line, should be colored identically (we’ll say yellow). That gives you 5 blue squares (the corners and the middle) and 12 yellow squares (a kind of compass, surrounding the middle blue square).

The final pattern and color is for the sides.

As you look at the perimeter of the board, you’ll see the 4 blue squares in the 4 corners. Each blue corner should have two empty (uncolored) squares beside it in each direction. The middle squares along the perimeter will be colored identically, let’s say in green. There are 5 middle squares on each side, plus four empty squares and two blue corners per side, for a total of 11 squares per side.

Finally, the square that touches the middle square on each side will also be green.

Do the same on all four sides. When you are done it will look like this!

The Rules

The rules are fairly simple. You’ll need 3 different colors of glass beads (or some other marker) to represent the players (24 beads in one color for the attackers, 12 beads in another color for defenders, as well as one glass bead in a third color for the King). You can substitute something else for the markers (24 pennies, 12 dimes and one nickel).

The King sits on his throne, which is the center blue square, and he is surrounded by his men on the yellow squares (the 12 defenders). The rest of the beads are the attackers, and they are set up around the board on the green squares.

It is hard to differentiate the King from the defenders in this picture, but you get the idea. The light blue beads are attackers, the green beads are defenders and the center, turquoise bead on the throne is the King. Also, we colored this board a bit differently than our instructions, but just disregard these differences.

Objective:

The four sides represent four ships. The middle represents the King on his throne, surrounded by his loyal defenders. The defenders try to help the King escape by enabling him to get to one of the four corners. The attackers win if they can capture the King before he reaches one of the corners and escapes. Typically the attackers have the upper hand, so good manners dictate playing twice and switching sides so that each person has a chance to play both roles. If you want to keep score, count how many of the opponent’s pieces are captured in both games, and add up the total to determine the final winner.

Here are the rules:

1) Pieces can move as far as they want to in a single turn, but only in a straight line right to left or up and down. No diagonal moves are allowed. Think of how the Rook moves in chess; Hnefetafl pieces move the same way.

2) The throne and the four corners may only be occupied by the King. Another piece can pass through the throne if the King is not sitting on it, but no piece may land on the throne or corners except the King.

3) The attackers are allowed to move first. Turns alternate between the two players. Pieces are not allowed to jump over each other.

4) Pieces are captured in one of two ways: either they are trapped between two enemy pieces, or between an enemy piece and one of the King’s squares (the center square or the corner squares). The two enemy pieces must be directly beside the captured piece (left to right or top to bottom), not diagonal.

Also, the trap must be closed by the move of the opponent. In other words, if a defender sneaks in between two attackers which are already in position, the defender is not captured. Captured pieces are removed from game play for the rest of the game.

Since corner squares can be used to help capture an opponent’s piece in an attack, it isn’t wise to stay adjacent to one.

5) The King can be captured just like any other piece unless he is sitting on his throne or on one of the four squares directly adjacent to his throne. If he is on this throne, the attackers have to surround him in all four cardinal directions.

If he is on any of the four squares directly adjacent to his throne, the attackers have to surround him on the four points of the compass.

6) If the King is in danger of being captured on the next move, the attacker must say, “Watch your King”.

That’s it! The King is wise to sacrifice a few of his defenders in the early rounds, as often they end up getting in his way as he tries to escape. The attackers do well to set up a blockade around all four corners, but this requires fast action from the outset of the game.