Most Kubb instructions you will find on the Internet require all field kubb’s and the King to be knocked over in a single turn to win the game. This is nigh impossibly without a lot of strategic positioning work, so the small variation described below makes the game quicker and more enjoyable for all ages and abilities.
Setting Up
Place the King in the middle of a rectangle that measures approximately 5 paces wide by 8 paces long and line up five Kubbs at each end. You can mark the corners if you wish, using the pegs.
Tournaments generally use a rectangle of 5m by 8m but you should reduce it slightly, because this Kubb set is slightly smaller than the standard; oak is not light and my friends wanted to be able to lug the set to their local parks. Be fair and go with a pitch size where everyone has a reasonable chance of hearing the ‘tock’ of a well aimed or lucky bounce baton felling oak.
Where to stand
Two teams stand behind the baselines facing each other. The batons are thrown with the aim of knocking over the Kubbs at the opposite end. Don’t daydream while the other team is throwing, because you are in their line of fire and a baton to the shin can be surprisingly painful.
How to throw
The baton must be thrown under-arm and vertically. It must not be thrown flat or spinning like a helicopter’s rotors. Throws at the King must be taken facing backwards and between the legs – loss of dignity is the price of winning.
Start of Play
One player from each team throws a baton from the baseline. The team whose baton lands nearest the King without knocking it over starts.
The game in a nutshell
The starting team throws six batons, divided among the players, aiming to knock over all five Kubbs at the far end, then the King to win.
Before the other team tries to do the same, they must first throw all Kubbs felled by the other team, to land beyond the King. These ‘Field Kubbs’ are set upright where they came to rest. All Field Kubbs must be knocked down before a team can target Kubbs on the baseline. When no Kubbs are left standing the target is the King and victory!
Variation from the standard rules
Once a Field Kubb has been knocked over, it should be removed from play.
In the official rules they are set upright again where they came to rest, because all Field Kubbs and the King must be knocked over in a single turn… strategists cluster Field Kubbs so they can be felled with fewer batons leaving more for the King, but oh how the game must drag on!
Rules
When throwing fallen Kubbs, if they hit another Field Kubb they can be stacked, making it easier to knock more than one over with a single baton. Enjoy the challenge of getting a tower of three or more Field Kubbs to stay upright!
If a Kubb is thrown short of the King when it first lands, it can be thrown again. But do this twice and the other team can place it where they like, normally near to but not closer than a baton’s length from the King (you’ll see why soon).
If any Field Kubbs remain standing at the end of the team’s turn, the other team can throw from the ‘penalty line’, defined by the Field Kubb nearest to the centre line.
Tatics
When throwing Field Kubbs, there is a decision to be made. Throw short and they are easier to hit, but if your team fails to knock them all over during its turn, the other team throw from the penalty line, so perhaps to throw long is best?
Oooh
It is next to impossible not to utter an Oooh whenever someone almost hits something (or an Aaarh if it’s you). This is permitted.
How to lose quickly
Knock over the King mid-game and it’s all over.
Have fun
Never forget that Kubb is a timeless garden game, invented aeons before gardens and probably even YouTube instructions existed, so while championships, tournaments and governing bodies have sprung up in more recent times, don’t let rule nitpicks spoil the fun.
Never lose heart
Fortunes can change quickly in Kubb. One team might be bent double, flinging batons furiously towards the King with blood rushing to their heads. Meanwhile the other team’s Kubbs remain resolutely standing, yet when they finally succeed in hitting one, the team that was prematurely smug must throw it into play and fell this Field Kubb before resuming their attack on the King. It is surprising how often this allows the struggling team to catch up and win.