Games to Buy
Here at Cyningstan we are proud of our hand-made game sets. Most of our games use pine boards and glass pieces, but occasionally we use other materials too. Have a browse through the games below. You can try out many of them before you buy, to see if you enjoy them. If the computer keeps beating you, then you obviously need to buy a game to play against your less well-practised friends!
We haven't yet got a shopping cart installed on this site. So for the time being we're selling some games on Etsy. To see what's for sale at the moment, please click here. Alternatively feel free to email us (see bottom of page) with enquiries about specific games, which we can make to order.
Alquerque
Introduced to Spain by the Moors, the game of Alquerque was eventually married to the chess board to create the game of draughts we know today. The game has been played all around the world, and its simple but strategic rules have inspired people across the centuries to expand it, miniaturise it, stretch it and modify it into all kinds of interesting variations - draughts being only one of them. But Alquerque is the original and purest of them all. (read more...)
Awithlaknannai
The game of Fighting Serpents is a traditional game of the native North Americans, played much by the Zuni tribe of New Mexico. Twenty-four pieces, laid out like a pair of intertwined serpents, wage war against each other in the hope of winning the game from their side. This game is a unique fusion of ideas from the native Americans and Spanish invaders. (read more...)
Brandub (summer)
Wherever the Vikings went on raids, trading missions or voyages of colonisation, they took with them their game of strategy: hnefatafl. In Ireland the game was adopted by the natives, who called it Brandub. A king and four guards fight hand-to-hand against eight attackers. The king must reach one of his strongholds in the corners of the board with the help of his faithful soldiers. The attackers must prevent the king from doing so by capturing him. King and men move in straight lines like chariots up a valley, and a man is lost when caught between two enemies or trapped against the walls of a stronghold. (read more...)
Brandub (winter)
Wherever the Vikings went on raids, trading missions or voyages of colonisation, they took with them their game of strategy: hnefatafl. In Ireland the game was adopted by the natives, who called it Brandub. A king and four guards fight hand-to-hand against eight attackers. The king must reach one of his strongholds in the corners of the board with the help of his faithful soldiers. The attackers must prevent the king from doing so by capturing him. Soldiers move in straight lines like chariots up a valley, and a man is lost when caught between two enemies or trapped against the walls of a stronghold. (read more...)
Fanorona
Bring to life a piece of the history of exotic Madagascar with their very own board game, fanorona. So intertwined with their fate was fanorona that, it is reported, their last queen Ranavalona III placed more confidence in the outcome of a ritual game than in her own armed forces. Madagascar was taken by the French at the end of the nineteenth century and remained a part of their empire for sixty years, but the game of fanorona lives on. (read more...)
French Military Game
Outwit your opponents in this small but surprisingly tactical hunt game. Also known as hare and hounds, this game was popular with the French military in the nineteenth century. Can the hare make it across the board, or will the hounds capture him? Our board is made of pine, with the game pattern burnt into the wood. The board is sealed and polished with beeswax, and the four glass pieces are carried in a black drawstring bag. An A5 instruction leaflet comes with the game. (read more...)
Nyout
One of a number of interesting games to be invented in Korea is nyout. This game is of unknown antiquity, but may be as old as the third century. Two, three or four players race a team of horses around the outer track, the first team to complete a circuit winning the game. But there's a twist: horses landing in the right place may be able to take a shortcut! (read more...)
Royal Game of Ur
The Royal Game of Ur is one of the oldest games in the world, and we've found it's one of the most enjoyable too! In 1925 a complete set was found, dating from 2500 B.C., making this the oldest complete set of gaming equipment in the world. No rules were found with the game, but a set of rules for a slightly different game using the same board gives clues to how it was played. (read more...)
Seega
When we played seega for the first time we found it so enjoyable, we felt we really had to share the fun! The result is our handmade seega board. The board is about six inches by six (152mm x 152mm) and is made out of pine board, sealed and polished with beeswax. The pattern is burnt into the board using the pokerwork technique. The pieces are twenty-four glass beads, twelve blue and twelve red, and are held in a drawstring bag. (read more...)
Senet
Enjoy a pastime of the ancient Egyptians: senet, a game of luck and strategy that has entertained for 5,000 years. Be the first to move your pieces around the course, in a journey to the afterlife. This senet board is about 4 inches by 10, or 100mm by 250mm, and is made of oak, polished with beeswax. The pattern is burnt into the wood with the pokerwork technique, so the pattern will never wear. There are ten pieces made of glass, five of each colour. An ivory effect die is supplied, as is a velvet drawstring pouch for the die and pieces. The game is supplied with a 4-page A5 rules leaflet that contains a brief history of the game. (read more...)
Tablut (summer)
Relive the Viking experience, with tablut, a variant of the Norse hnefatafl game that lasted until the 18th century. Will the Swedish king manage to break the blockade, or will the Muscovites capture him? The board is made of pine, and is approximately nine inches by nine, or 225 mm square. The pattern is burnt into the wood, as with other games we make. The pieces are made of coloured glass, and have a warm summer colour scheme: a yellow king, red defenders and green attackers. A black drawstring pouch is supplied to keep the pieces. (read more...)
Tablut (winter)
Relive the Viking experience, with tablut, a variant of the Norse hnefatafl game that lasted until the 18th century. Will the Swedish king manage to break the blockade, or will the Muscovites capture him? The board is made of pine, and is approximately nine inches by nine, or 225 mm square. The pattern is burnt into the wood, as with other games we make. The pieces are made of coloured glass, and have a cool winter colour scheme: a purple king, white defenders and blue attackers. A black drawstring pouch is supplied to keep the pieces. (read more...)
