Making your own Kubb set for free

I love games, especially if the skills they call for are useful in real life. A few years back some friends of ours introduced us to Kubb, a lawn game made of wood supposedly dating back to the 8th century of the modern era. Though it is simple to play it surprisingly offers some nice strategic possibilities and some awesome throwing-stick practice!

Since then, I've introduced the game to many people in our valley and I haven't found a single person who doesn't love the game. In fact, people love it so much that they generally want to get their own set.

Curiously, a game that simple has a retail price of $50 to $80! And it's so popular that it's flying off the shelves. Yikes!

I just finished making my third set for a gift and it cost me nothing except an hour worth of work. Here is how I made it, all with hand tools of course.

The game pieces are
10 Kubbs, or rectangular wooden blocks 6 inches tall and 2.75 x 2.75 inches square on the ends;
1 King, a rectangular block 12 inches tall and 3.5 x 3.5 inches on the ends;
6 Throwing Sticks, 12 inches long and around 1.5 inches in diameter;
4 Stakes to mark the corners of the field.

To make the Kubbs, I picked a log at least 4 inches in diameter (not including the bark) with as few branches on it as possible. I used Douglas Fir because that's the best thing readily available to me but the best wood would be one with straight, even grain so that it splits nice and easy. Avoid very knotty woods like Ponderosa Pine if you want nice and even pieces, and avoid any piece that already has a split in it.

Cut a 6-inch length off the log and mark a 2.75 x 2.75 inch square on the end of it with a pencil. With a sharp axe, split the log along those lines. If you use a single-headed axe you can just put the axe on the line and use a stick or a mallet to hammer the axe through; if you use a double-headed axe you can hold the axe on the line and lift up both the kubb and axe at the same time, slamming them both down on your chopping block. Depending on the bevel on your axe, you may have to hold it at a different angle to get a clean straight split. If you don't get a straight split you can flip the kubb on ends and trim off the remaining pieces with the axe. Repeat with the remaining 9 kubbs.

To make the King, I picked a log at least 5 inches in diameter (not including the bark). Cut off a 12-inch length and mark a 3.5 x 3.5 inch square on the end and do the same as with the Kubbs.

To make the Throwing Sticks, find either a long straight sapling or a long straight branch with a diameter of about 1.5 inches and cut 6 12-inch lengths. If you really want to have 6 pieces with the exact same diameter you may need to use several saplings/branches, which may or may not be a waste. I actually like having pieces of slightly different diameters as you can choose which stick to throw depending on the situation (a heavy one to try to topple several kubbs at once, or a light one to get a far away kubb, for instance). Anything between 1.25 and 2 inches will work just fine.

With an axe, remove the rough outer bark and knots from the sticks to make them smooth. Then, round up the edges at the end with a knife and/or abrade them on a gritty rock so that they don't cut your hands.

To make the 4 Stakes, you can simply use some leftover pieces from cutting the throwing sticks or just use other pieces of wood. I like cutting them to a 12-inch length as well so that they're easy to store with the rest. With an axe, chop off the end at an angle so as to form a point that will easily be hammered into the ground.

Kubb is a fantastic game that can be played on any surface. Lately, we've been having fun playing it on the icy driveway, making the sticks slide to topple the kubbs. Try playing it on an unmowed lawn or sand for an extra challenge!

Find out how to set everything up and play the game from this website.

Of course, you can use power tools, a sander, and varnish to make your set extra nice if that's what you're into but playing the game with your own handmade quirky set is also fun and adds some variety to your neighborhood league. Have fun!

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