Discworld 34 - Thud! by Terry Pratchett - 04 of 11 Episodes

Thud! is Terry Pratchett's 34th Discworld novel, released in the United States of America on September 13 2005, the United Kingdom on October 1 2005, and may have been released before that date in other countries, such as Norway and Denmark. Thud! was released in the U.S. three weeks before it was released in Pratchett's native UK, to coincide with a United States signing tour. The book takes its name from the game "Thud" which was developed by Trevor Truran, Bernard the stout, Cunning Artificer to the Gentry, and Terry Pratchett. The game is based on games of the Tafl family, which are distinguished by the unequal size of the opposing forces. The objective is usually for the force of fewer numbers to take all the members of the larger forces whose aim is generally to stop them doing so. A fragment of a gaming board of 18 x 18 squares, found in Wimose, Fyn, Denmark dated prior to AD400 is the first evidence of Tafl, which also regularly appears in the early Icelandic sagas. It is also known as Hnefatafll or the Viking game.