Brandubh: Celtic Royal Chess (1932)

From the publisher:

Brandubh translates into "Black Ravens" or "Black Crows" in Ancient Gaelic and features a larger force of "Robbers" attacking the "King" and his "Lords". Many versions of this game have been played by various Celtic peoples for thousands of years and pre-dates the various Viking Tafl-type Games by many centuries. While different rules exist, we have included those that we consider the most challenging and playable for both sides.

The rules for our version of this game come from studying the "Ballinderry Board". The Ballinderry Game Board was found in 1932 during the excavation of a "crannog", or lake dwelling at Ballinderry, West Meath, Ireland.

Our games are hand-crafted in the Acorn Games studios in the beautiful Monadnock Region of New Hampshire. The game boards are all hand drawn on leather and suede with Ancient Celtic symbols used for the placement marks. Each set also includes 8 jewel toned glass "Robbers" and 4 jewel toned glass "Lords" as well as a hand carved ceramic "King" in a classic terracotta color. Each "King" is highly detailed as you can tell from the picture below.

The complete rules as well as diagrams for alternate set-ups are permanently attached in the decorated storage box. Each box is hand decorated using a mix of Ancient Celtic designs and wood-burning to make for an attractive conversation piece. Each box measures approximately 4in. long x 3in. wide x 2 1/2in. high. Since each game is hand crafted, there will be natural color and shape variations in the game boards, playing pieces and box decorations.

Each BRANDUBH Game includes:
1 - Decorated display box with rules
1 - Leather or Suede Game Board
12 - Jewel toned Glass Playing Pieces
1 - Hand-Carved "KING" Piece