The Game of Kubb

Kubb (Swedish pronunciation: [kɵbː]) is a Swedish game with characteristics similar to games like bowling, Mölkky and pétanque. The word kubb comes from 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 batons — before the opposing team does.

Everyone can enjoy kubb. The rules take just a few minutes to learn, and the game can be played on all kinds of surfaces — grass, sand, snow, even ice. The number of players can vary, though 8 to 16 is generally recommended, and the duration of a game can range from 30 seconds to more than an hour. Playing kubb takes skill and precision, but a strategic mindset matters just as much!

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

A Brief History

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

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

Thanks to the description of a skittles war game similar to kubb in the second edition of the Swedish encyclopedia Nordisk familjebok, 1911 is often cited as kubb's birth year. However, the first written mention of the word kubb dates to 1931, in a book by a Gotland-born ethnologist visiting the island of Fårö. Since Fårö is part of the province of Gotland, you could say kubb was invented on Gotland after all.

In Gotland, kubb's popularity suddenly surged in the late 1980s as the game began popping up in parks and gardens across the island. Demand grew, and the first kubb sets made for commercial sale soon followed. In 1995, the first Kubb World Championship was held in Rone, Gotland. By 1998, kubb had become popular enough that the Swedish company Brio began producing affordable, factory-made sets for the international market. Today, most kubb sets are made of rubberwood, which resists chipping and splintering.

A Global Success

After booming across the Nordic countries in the late 1990s, kubb has grown into a global phenomenon. Kubb associations now exist not only in Sweden, but also in countries like England, Germany, the Netherlands, and France, as well as in the US and Canada. Kubb tournaments are played all over the world — Belgium alone hosts more than 50 each year. And the Kubb World Championship? It's still held on the island of Gotland, a three-day event that draws more than 3,000 participants every year.

The slogan of the Kubb World Championship — Kubb unites people and creates peace on Earth — perfectly captures the spirit of the game. It's one to be enjoyed with family and friends, and one that can be a spirited competition without ever turning mean-spirited. A good outdoor game brings people together in the fresh air and sparks conversation and camaraderie — kubb fits the bill perfectly. If you haven't played yet, give it a try!