[ Homepage ] [ Index ] [ Books ] [ Records ] [ Celtic Art ] [ Our Shops ] [ Mailing List ] [ Order ]

Ever since ancient times the Celts had a word for the checkerboards games which so delighted them. They called them Viducuestla (Breton - Gwezboell, Welsh - Gwyddbwyll, Erse - Fidchell) meaning the art or science of wood - the material from which their checkerboards were usually made.
Among the various games known under this name was this most subtle and highly developed one, which has been rediscovered by studying ancient texts and boards which have survived.
This Gwezboell is a game of strategy, reflecting the endemic wars of the ancient Celtic world.

Unlike chess and draughts, Gwezboell opposes unequal forces with different objectives.
The king besieged in his central castle is protected by eight princes. With their aid he must escape the agressors by reaching one of the four corners of the board.
The assailants are sixteen in number, in four groups of four. They must capture the king by blocking him in and preventing his every movements.