The laws of Gwyddbwyll are pretty simple. There are two teams: the king and princes, who have two types of piece (
and 
), and the assailants,who only have one (
).
The game is set up in a sort of cross, and the assailants move first. All pieces move like rooks in chess: forward, backward, left, and right as many spaces as are possible. A prince or assailant is captured in a strangling move, when two pieces of the opposing team are made to surround it on either side. However, if the piece moves between two of the opposing team, then it is safe.
The object of the king is to reach one of the four corners (marked "K") from the center. The king moves the same way as the rest of the pieces. The king can be captured by the assailants if he is surrounded on all four sides, or three if he is against an edge of the board. Only the king can move on or across the sqauares marked "k." The object of the assailants is to capture the king.