Editing Kubb (section)

== History ==

===Possible forebears===

[[File:Playing Kaisers 1800.jpg|thumb|Boys playing the game {{langx|de|label=none|kaisers}} with—the author insists—''the wrong pins'']]
The features of kubb most distinguishing it from other pin-toppling games (such as [[bowling]] and [[skittles (sport)|skittles]]) are that 1) teams "own" opposite sides of the playing field, and 2) toppled pins are "recycled" back into play and may be tossed to opposite sides. Endrei & Zolnay briefly note an unnamed game,{{efn|"Eight persons each a side played, setting up twelve [pins] each on their own area, and bombing those of the opponent with bowls. But [pins] knocked down could in turn be used as missiles, and the team which last had one upright [pin] left won."<ref name="EZ" />}} played in Poland "as early as the sixteenth century", which seems to exhibit both features.<ref name="EZ">{{cite book |author1-last=Endrei |author1-first=Walter |author2-last=Zolnay |author2-first=László |title=Fun and Games in Old Europe |date=1986 |publisher=Corvina |isbn=978-963-13-2386-3 |language=en |oclc=19518951 |page=121}}</ref>

Though differing from kubb in detail, {{langx|de|label=none|kaisers}},{{efn|"'''Kaisers''' In this game of skittles, in which either two people or two parties take part, the nine pins are divided [between sides]. ¶ The person or party that gets only four pins by lot gets the king [pin] and the right of first toss. ¶ The pins can be placed wherever each side desires, including placement such that you can only reach them by throwing the ball and not by rolling it; but [the pins] must not be placed out of sight of the other side. ¶ If he who was awarded only four pins and the first toss hits one of the pins of the other party with his thrown or rolled ball, the latter is obliged to throw the knocked-over pin to the opposing party, who must stand it up on the same place upon which it fell. ¶ If the person who threw this pin over succeeds in knocking down another of the opposing party, it is their duty to throw that hit pin to the opponent. ¶ Play continues in this way until one side has not a single pin left. ¶ Finally, we note that everyone who is to toss must stand behind their pins, and not (the more easily to reach a pin that the opponent placed rather far away) step in front of his [own pins]. Do not be misled by the error of the draftsman or engraver, who gave the game ten skittles, several with a distinct form: rather, use eight common skittles and one king [pin] for this game."<ref name="Grohmann" />}} as published in Leipzig in 1800, displays most of the fundamental features of kubb, including team sides, recycled pins, a kingpin, and even the requirement to throw from behind one's own pins; though as in the Polish game, the main projectile is a ball rather than a baton.<ref name="Grohmann">{{cite book |title=Sammlung von gesellschaftlichen Gartenspielen und ländlichen Vergnügungen |first=Johann Gottfried |last=Grohmann |date=1800 |publisher=Baumgärtner |location=Leipzig |language=de |url=https://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/id/PPN720539587 |section=IX: Kaisers |pages=37–39}}</ref>

The [[Karelia]]n game [[kyykkä]] and the possibly [[Siberia]]n game [[bunnock]] both feature team sides and (unlike the Polish game and kaisers) use versions of batons as projectiles rather than balls.

Though typologically related to kubb, no definite historical connection between these games and kubb has been shown.

=== Norway ===
Known as ''kilkasting'', variations of kubb has been used as children's play and for juvenile competitions. It is known and described from mid 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|author=Stemshaug, Marit |date=2004 |page=123-125 |publisher=Samlaget |title=Dette leika vi med : norske leiker frå dei eldste tider til vår tid |url=http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015070908173}}<!-- auto-translated from Norwegian by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Enerstvedt, Åse |date=1982 |page=142 |publisher=Samlaget |title=Tampen brenn : norske barneleikar |url=http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2007071700027}}<!-- auto-translated from Norwegian by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>Arve Nordlie «Kilkasting». ''Årbok for Nord-Østerdalen'' 1984. Side 121-127</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Knut Hermundstad |date=1952 |page=142–144 |publisher=Utgitt av [[Norsk Folkeminnelag]] |series=NFL; 70 |title=Ættarminne : Gamal Valdreskultur 5 |url=http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2008042904001}}<!-- auto-translated from Norwegian by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>{{cite book|author=[[Halvor Floden]] |date=1968 |page=310-312 |publisher=Universitetsforlaget |title=Ein fjellgard |url=http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2007051501026}}<!-- auto-translated from Norwegian by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

===Sweden===

Sören Wallin has identified the Swedish game {{langx|sv|label=none|kägelkrig}} (as described in a 1911 encyclopedia<ref name="NF1911">{{Cite encyclopedia |url=https://runeberg.org/nfbo/0293.html|encyclopedia=Nordisk Familjebok |edition=2nd ("owl") |volume=15 |at=col. 549-550 |title=Kägelspelet |location=Stockholm |date=1911 |lang=sv}}</ref>) as essentially the same as, and the forebear of, kubb.<ref name="Wallin">{{cite magazine |last=Wallin |first=Sören |date=January 2015 |title=An Essay On The Timeline Of Kubb |url=http://www.wisconsinkubb.com/resources/Kubbnation/2015_Magazine/2015%20Kubbnation___Final.pdf |magazine=Kubbnation |volume=5 |pages=22–30}}</ref>{{rp|22}} This game was known on the Swedish mainland at least as early as 1878, when it was described in ''Ungdomens Bok'', a sort of ''[[Boys' Own]] Book''.{{efn|"'''{{langx|sv|label=none|Kägelkrig}}''' ("Skittles War") The players divide into two teams. Each team has four pins, lined up opposite each other. [Player] number 1 of the first team throws the ball, attempting to hit any of the opponent team's pins. If successful, [player] number 1 of the second team throws not only the ball, but also the felled pin, over to the first team, seeking with it to fell some pins. The pin is thrown first; it, as well as any pins it knocks over, must be raised where they lie, before the ball is thrown. The pins hit by the ball are thrown back again, as just described. Once a team has lost all its pins, it acquires possession of the king [pin], and if it too is felled by the ball, the game is lost. The game is best suited for only two; nevertheless, several may play."<ref name="Norman">{{cite book |last=Norman |first=Albert |title=Ungdomens Bok |date=1878 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RvIIAAAAQAAJ |language=sv |page=141}}</ref>}}

Kägelkrig, the Polish game, and kaisers all seem to feature felled pins being thrown to the opponent side ''in order themselves to fell opponent pins'', which is not a feature of contemporary kubb.

====Gotland====
Kubb was evidently unknown in [[Gotland]] in 1912, when a list of traditional Gotlandic games was drawn up, in conjunction with the Olympic Games (held in Stockholm that year).<ref name="Wallin" />{{rp|24}} However, in 1931 a Gotlandic ethnologist, visiting the island of [[Fårö]], just to the north of Gotland, recorded the earliest known use of the name "kubb" for this game,<ref name="Wallin" />{{rp|23}} and it was played by residents of Gotland by at least the mid-20th century.

In the 1980s it became a local craze, leading to the first local commercial manufacturing efforts in the late 1980s.<ref name="Ronström">{{cite conference |conference-url=https://www.sicri.net/ |url=http://sicri-network.org/ISIC4/g.%20ISIC4P%20Ronstrom.pdf |title='KUBB' Local identity and global connectedness in a Gotland parish |first=Owe |last=Ronström |date=2008 |conference=4th International Small Island Cultures Conference |book-title=Refereed papers from the 4th International Small Island Cultures Conference, The Turku archipelago. June 17th-20th 2008 |pages=17–27}}</ref>{{rp|20}}<ref name="Wallin" />{{rp|25}} In 1995 a tournament was initiated in [[Rone, Gotland]] — the Kubb World Championship — somewhat ironically titled, as it was at this time still a thoroughly local affair.<ref name="Ronström" />{{rp|20}} However, within only a few years, mainland and international teams were coming to Gotland to compete, and a major Swedish manufacturer was selling Kubb sets; in the 2000s Kubb spread to several European countries, as well as the USA and Canada.<ref name="Ronström" />{{rp|20–21}} Large kubb tournaments now occur throughout Europe and the United States of America. Belgium alone held over 50 tournaments in 2012.

The Kubb World Championship takes place at the same time as "Medieval Week" in [[Visby]]<ref name="Ronström" />{{rp|22}} (which has been "the island's main tourist magnet since the mid 1980s"<ref name="Ronström" />{{rp|19}}). Medieval Week also incorporated the playing of kubb, and this connection has likely motivated kubb's being marketed, both in the US and in Europe, with such unfounded appellations as "Viking Chess" and "Old Norse Viking outdoor game".<ref name="Ronström" />{{rp|19}}

=== United Kingdom ===
UK Kubb, the national body for Kubb in the UK, was founded in 2006 by two enthusiasts, one of whom had learned the game when on holiday in Sweden. They organised a UK Kubb Championship which has been run annually since that time.<ref>[https://www.ukkubb.org/history ''UK Kubb Championship - History''] at ukkubb.org. Retrieved 15 August 2023.</ref> The championship rules are adapted from those of the US National Championship rules.<ref>[https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55ba12b5e4b0f2c56aefa88b/t/55d25512e4b06f52f9e7b0e8/1439847698320/UK_National_Kubb_Championship_Rules_v0-3.pdf ''UK Kubb Championship Rules''] at static1.squarespace.com. Retrieved 15 August 2023.</ref>