Kubb is a Swedish (or "Viking") lawn game, played with wooden blocks, a King, and kastpinnars. It is similar to horseshoes or lawn bowling, with the exception that the pieces are wooden, and a strict end-over-end rotation is required for throwing.
Gameplay and Rules
A kubb set is made of:
- 1 King
- 6 sticks (kastpinnars)
- 10 kubbs (Swedish for "chopping block")
- 4 field markers
5 kubbs are placed on each side, and both sides are usually 20-50 feet apart. The spacing of each kubb varies, but 2-3 feet per kubb is common. The field markers set the in-play regions; players cannot throw from outside the left and right bounds. The king is stood up in the very middle of the playing area.
The object of kubb is to knock the opponent's kubbs down, opening up the opportunity to knock down the King, which concludes the game. Knocking over the King prematurely results in an instant loss.
To begin, each team throws a kastpinnar to see who is closet to the king without knocking it over. Touching the King is allowed. The closest team goes first.
Each team gets 6 throws. The first team attempts to knock down the opponent team's kubbs down. After all six throws, any knocked over pieces are collected by the second team, and tossed between the King's line and the opponent's back line. The first team then stands these up in the positions in which they landed.
Now, before the second team can begin throwing at the first team's back line of kubbs, they must knock over all "field kubbs" (those stood up) first. If they fail to do so and use all 6 of their kastpinnars, the field kubb closest to the King is the new starting line for the first team's round of throwing.
As before, any knocked over kubbs (whether field kubbs or backline kubbs) must be tossed between the King and the opposing team's back line, and stood up by the other team. The tossing of the field kubbs is always done from behind the backline kubbs, regardless of any withstanding field kubbs.
Other rules
Each field kubb must last within the bounds. If it fails to do so, the throwing team can attempt to knock it in bounds with the tossing of other field kubbs. If they fail to do so twice, the opposing team may place the kubb wherever they like in their side, as long as it's at least 1 kastpinnar away from the King.
If a team has knocked down all but one of the opposing team's kubbs and they have one kastpinnar left, a special rule exists. Because they cannot knock down the last kubb and the King in one turn, the should toss the remaining kubb away. If they forget this rule and knock the last kubb down and have no remaining kastpinnars left, the opposing team may knock the King down directly and win the game.
When throwing field kubbs, a field kubb that lands on a previously thrown field kubb is to be stacked on top of it. This allows the throwing team to knock many field kubbs down with one kastpinnar.
Kubb set construction
Directions to produce a kubb set can be found all over the internet. Here is one example.
Local Clubs
The Unofficial Davis Kubb Club For Kubb Players And Other People Who Want To Throw Things At Other Things And Pretend To Be Swedish (UDKCFKPAOPWWTTTAOTAPTBS) meets at Central Park every Sunday at 1 (weather permitting), and welcomes new players. Currently they only have one kubb set, but there are plans to purchase more sets to allow more simultaneous games and players.
