It’s time to play Kubb, a Norwegian outdoor game that can be played when it’s sunny and 70 degrees or when there’s a foot of snow on the ground.
The basics of the game include knocking over blocks, or kubbs, by tossing batons/sticks, all of which are simple carved wooden game pieces. Each player or team receives five pawn-like kubbs and one king, which are set up along a field, called a pitch, that is roughly 15 feet by 24 feet.
The five kubbs are placed along the furthest line of the pitch, which is designated with marking pins; the king is placed in the middle and center. The order at which each player tosses a baton to knock over his or her opponents’ kubbs is strategic. All kubbs must be taken out of play before the king is knocked over.
Here’s the basic order:
- Players/teams toss their batons to get as close as they can to the king without knocking it over. The closest wins and gets the first turn.
- Now, they toss a baton end-over-end at the opponent’s kubb.
- Every kubb they knock over is a kubb they get to keep and stand within their pitch boundaries, as the objective is to leave your opponent with no kubb and
no king. - If your opponent is unsuccessful at knocking down all your kubbs, starting with the baseline, you’re able to walk to the center line and toss your baton.
This continues until you or your opponent knock down all field kubbs, baseline kubbs
and the king. - Here’s what makes Kubb really interesting. The game is referred to as Viking chess. And the orgins of the game are just as violent as the legends of Vikings. All the game pieces, as legend has it, were originally played with human femurs and skulls obtained after conquering a village.
