Noblemen in the Viking Age engaged primarily in warfare and power struggles with their most imminent competitors. They invested in impressive military retinues and expanded their forts. Apart from fighting, trading or looting the nobles engaged in non-production activities proving that they did not have to work.
Hunting was closely related to military activity, yet, contrary to other parts of Scandinavia, it was not regarded as a distinctive elite kind of activity. In contrast, board games with pieces made of ivory, whale bone or amber were considered luxury items. In 2008 a burial boat was excavated in Salme revealing over 70 gaming pieces. It is reportedly the largest archaeological find of gaming pieces in northern Europe. Some gaming pieces were also found in stone graves in other regions of Estonia, confirming that board games might have been played in Estonia. Surprisingly, there is a connection between board games and warrior ideology - the elites did not waste their time as most likely, what entertained them were strategic games with a military orientation.
An overview of Hnefatafl - the most known strategic board game from the Viking times can be found here, by Sten Helmfrid.
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