The Game Kubb

Kubb (Swedish pronunciation: [kɵbː]) is a Swedish game with characteristics similar to games like bowling, Mölkky and pétanque. The word kubb stems from the term vedkubbar, which means wooden block in the Gotland dialect of Swedish. Kubb is played between two teams. The objective of the game is to knock over all the kubbs, and then the king, with throwing sticks — before the opposing team does.

Everyone can enjoy kubb. It takes only a few minutes to grasp and can be played on different surfaces, such as grass, sand, snow or even ice. The number of players can vary, although 8 to 16 players is generally recommended. The duration of a game can range from 30 seconds to more than an hour. Playing a game of kubb requires both skill and precision, but also a strategical mindset!

The game kubb has a long history. Kubb as we know it today was invented on a Swedish island named Gotland. It gained widespread popularity in the late 1980s, when commercial sets were first manufactured.

A Brief History

Source: Same Old Games, [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Gotland — Sweden's largest island — is generally considered the home and origin of the game kubb. Legend has it that the game dates back to the Vikings and has survived since then on Gotland, but there's really no evidence to support this. Kubb is sometimes marketed as Viking Chess nonetheless. There is however evidence that skittle games similar to kubb were played in Ancient Egypt (see image) and Greece, which leads us to conclude they migrated north, rather than the other way around.

Because of the description of a skittles war game similar to kubb in the second edition of the Swedish Encyclopedia Nordisk familjebok, 1911 is often considered the year of birth for kubb. The first written mention of the word kubb however is dated to 1931 in a book by a Gotland native ethnologist, visiting the island Fårö. Since Fårö is part of the province Gotland, one could say that kubb was invented on Gotland after all.

In Gotland in the late 1980s, kubb's popularity suddenly surged as it started to emerge in parks and gardens. There came a demand, and so the first kubb sets for commercial sales were made. In 1995, the first Kubb World Championship was organised in Rone, Gotland. By 1998, kubb had become so popular that it became interesting for the Swedish company Brio to produce cheap factory made sets — targeted at the international market. Nowadays, most kubb sets are made of rubberwood, which does not easily chip or splinter.

A Global Success

After booming in the Nordic countries in the late 1990s, kubb has now become a global success. Kubb associations exist not only in Sweden, but also in countries like England, Germany, Netherlands, France, as well as in the US and Canada. Kubb tournaments are played all over the world. Belgium alone hosts more than 50 tournaments each year. And the Kubb World Championship? It's still organised on the island of Gotland — a 3 day event that attracts more than 3000 participants every year.

The slogan of the Kubb World Championship — Kubb unites people and creates peace on Earth — perfectly conveys the philosophy of the game kubb. A game to be enjoyed by family and friends and a game to serve as a spirited competition, but never mean spirited. A good outdoor game brings people together in the fresh air and spurs conversation and camaraderie. Kubb fits the bill. If you haven’t played, give it a try!