Describing Kubb in 3 Sentences?

Question

How do you describe Kubb to people that have never heard of it before in 3 sentences? I find that I quickly start talking about the rules and it sounds laborious. But then again, "it's a game where you throw wood at other wood" is a bit lacking too.

What is the best hook for introducing someone to the game?

Answer 1

Kubb (pronounced coob) is a Scandinavian lawn game that dates back to the Viking Age. Nicknamed “Viking Chess”, it can be described as a combination of bowling, chess, horseshoes, and billiards. Easy to learn, yet rich in strategy, kubb is gaining a major following in the Midwest. Parties, BBQ’s, camping, or at the beach, kubb is fun the whole group can enjoy!


I Used an unclaimed sentence from anonymous. This is our club "blurb" we use, but will probably steal some of Chris' verbiage for future collateral.

Answer 2

It is a tossing game that involved skill, strategy, and sometimes luck.
The game can be played by almost any age (8-95 I have witnessed ).


There is two :)

Answer 3

Kubb is an ancient tossing game for 2-12 players that is easy to make and easy to learn. It is a tossing game similar to Horseshoes or Bags (with elements of Billiards thrown in) that involves a depth of tactical analysis uncommon in lawn games. Kubb's ablility to engage it's players physically, mentally, and socially, coupled with the fact that it can be played on any mostly flat surface makes it an ideal fit for just about any occasion.

Comments

There is a lot of debate on Wikipedia whether Kubb is an "ancient" game or not.

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True. I read  great socioeconomic piece about the recent history of Kubb in Gotland and the rise of the World Championship. Throughout Europe islands seem to develop slower than the mainland, so that they are usually viewed as "quaint" or "old-timey". Gotland in particular is known for it's medieval architecture and heritage, and it's midsummer festival is similar to what we know as a renaissance fair.  Kubb's "resurgence" in the 1980's was due in large part to the high number of tourists interested in the game, and these tourists came for history. So, it was in the interests of Rone, (and of Kubb) that the game have solid, viking, medieval roots. And so it does.

Ask yourself, is it better to believe that it was invented 30 years ago to sell game sets to tourists, or that it was played a thousand years ago by vikings bellowing good-natured insults at each other over horns of mead? It can't be PROVEN to be an old norse pastime, but they can't prove it wasn't either.

They certainly used to play SOMETHING in the middle ages, and I bet if you squint your eyes just right it could look a whole lot like the game we love today.

I for one choose to believe the Viking part of Viking Chess.

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It's tempting to add a related question, "Do you believe?". :-)

Bonus points if you are now thinking of Mulders office in The X-Files.

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Haha! You went with X-Files, while I was thinking, "Yes Virginia, Vikings DID play kubb..."