Tortured souls of the internet can rejoice this day! There’s a version of MESSHOF’sNidhogg that you can actually play, and it’s totally free. Of course, there are probably those of you questioning what Nidhogg is and why, if it’s apparently so desirable, it isn’t playable already. To those people, let me explain: Nidhogg hasn’t been distributed on the internet, so the only place that you can play it is at one of the many festivals or public game shows that it’s taken to and cheered at by crowds of people. Practically everyone who gets a chance to play it laments that they can’t play it more often, or in the comfort of their own home, or with some friends of theirs at a convenient time.
So when Paul Pridham tweeted about EGGNOGG, including the download link for EGGNOGG, a few people found that it hits an empty spot rather nicely.

What makes Nidhogg special, and therefore EGGNOGG too, is its focus on nuance and reactions. Players can strike at each other in a number of ways, with the most common technique being to lunge either to the head, the body or the lower-half of the opponent. To avoid being struck by a lunge like this, the other play can attempt to match their sword to the right height so that they collide, or they can simply dodge backwards out of range.
Beyond that are a number of moves that are a lot riskier, but are more impressive and can really rile up the crowd, if you have one watching you play, such as sliding under legs, leaping and then striking with a downwards attack, or even throwing your sword at your opponent. The latter is particularly brave as that then leaves you without a sword, and so you have just your feet and hands to hit your opponent with until you’re next struck down.
I should also add that you don’t win by simply hitting your opponent, but this does give you an opportunity to move a step closer to it. The only way of winning is to move a couple of screens along, either to the left of right, depending on which side you start on. Only once your opponent is down can you do this, so don’t think jumping over their head and running for it is viable. You have to fight.