Kubb, pronounced ‘cub’ or sometimes ‘koob’ to reflect its supposed Scandinavian heritage hence also the name Viking Chess, is an outdoor game that can be played on grass or the beach and involves gently throwing wooden battens with the aim of knocking over wooden ‘kubb’s then the larger wooden ‘king’ to win.
Stored in a canvas bag or optional box, it can be kept in the garden shed or car and be set up in minutes whenever two or more people gather to play. Each side throws six batons, so a team of three would throw two battens each.
A small rule variation described on this site, makes the game quicker and more enjoyable for all ages. The pitch size can be varied to suit all abilities and with a single game lasting typically fifteen to twenty minutes, best of three, swapping ends each time works well. It makes little difference who goes first.
Kubb sets
- 6 throwing batons
- 10 kubbs
- 1 king
- 4 corner pegs
- 1 bag or box to carry the set
Cheaper sets are made from softwood and the mass-produced sets available on-line are typically made from a medium density rubberwood that in my experience quickly splits; I was drawn into making kubb sets from oak through requests to replace broken kubbs.
At the expense of being slightly heavier, I use air dried green oak for my sets and these harden further with age and have survived years of use unscathed. I have come to prefer the smoother grain of beech for the batons.
There is nothing wrong with a cheap set or indeed a made made set using any bits of wood that come to hand – it’s all about having fun playing the game after-all – but there is something rather wonderful about the feel and sound of a beech baton hitting an oak kubb and its timeless quality as a gift that can be passed down the family like an old croquet set, if a little care is taken to pack it away dry and not to leave a set out in the rain unloved where the wood will gradually start to rot as nature intended.