Competition rules according to Kubb World Championship
Table of content
General rules
Before you start the game
Throwing the sticks
Throwing Kubbs and putting them upright
Knock over the king
The official rules of the Kubb game as they are applied at the Kubb World Cup can be found below.
Source: “VM i Kubb“
General rules
- The size of the playing field is 5 x 8 meters.
- Each team consists of six team members. If you have less than 6 team members, you can use as many throwing sticks as members. Each team member may not throw more than one stick in any round. If a team consists of more than six members, it is allowed to switch team members between each throwing round. Before each round of throwing, the team must announce which 6 members will be throwing.
- You can only participate in one team.
- The throwing sticks are 4.4 cm in diameter and 30 cm long and made of pine or rubber wood.
- All field boundaries are considered “as thin as a wire”
- Unsportsmanlike and Disruptive Behavior:
- For the whole team: The team will be warned that the way they behave is unacceptable and if they don’t stop, they will be designated a loser in the game.
- For individual participant: participant will receive a warning that the way he or she behaves is not acceptable and if this behavior does not stop the team will have to continue without a participant and with one throwing stick less (5 sticks)
- In serious cases, the referee will decide the sanction immediately, otherwise a warning will be given before a penalty is taken.
- It is not allowed to remove center or corner poles during the game.
- All games are played in “best of 3” sets, except the Little World Cup where only one set is played each time.
Before you start the game
- The teams discuss how they want to throw the throwing sticks. there are two options here:
- 6-6-6: Each round, each team throws 6 throwing sticks.
- 2-4-6: the starting team throws with 2 throwing sticks, the other team then throws with 4 throwing sticks, after which the starting team throws with 6 throwing sticks. After this, 6 throwing sticks are thrown each time. The following sets will be repeated in the chosen way.
- When the teams can’t decide how to start, use 2-4-6.
- Which team can start throwing? This is done by having 1 team member from each team throw one stick at a time each at the king. The closest team without overthrowing the king wins. The stick may touch the king. The end of the stick determines the distance to the king (not the center of the stick). The winner can choose to either start throwing the sticks or choose the starting side. The losing team can choose to switch sides if the winning team chooses to start with the sticks.
Throwing the sticks
- The throwing sticks may only be thrown with underarm throws (throws under the armpits) and the stick must leave the hand in the direction of throwing.
- Helicopter throws are not allowed and are excluded. If it happens, the throw is invalid and any Kubbs that may have fallen over are put back upright.
- Different types of throws:
- “Helicopter throw”: A throw is considered a “helicopter throw” when the throwing stick rotates more than 90 degrees (a quarter turn) horizontally before hitting anything, the ground counts.
- “Windmill Throw”: When the stick turns vertically, it is allowed. It is allowed to use talcum powder during the casting. If the opponent thinks that the talcum powder is harmful, you can borrow a cleaning cloth from the secretariat.
- Throwing: Both feet must be behind the throw line and within the sidelines. When throwing the stick, you are not allowed to step over the throwing line or sideline. This also applies to the hand or any other part of the body. It is not allowed to jump while throwing. It is allowed to lean forward and stand on only one leg when throwing, but the leg that is in the air may be outside the side line.
- The referee will signal the foul before the throw, if possible. If this happens, the throw is invalid.
- For wheelchair-bound players, the center of the wheelchair wheels counts as feet.
- The non-throwing team must be at least 2 meters behind its own baseline when the opponent throws.
- Kubbs must not be moved out of position in favor of the thrower (to get a better stance when throwing the throwing stick).
Throwing Kubbs and putting them upright
- All Kubbs are thrown from baseline. When throwing field doubles, all Kubbs are rolled first, then the Kubbs that have landed outside the field are rolled. If one of these falls off the field again, these become “penalty-Kubbs” and are put where they want by the opponents. Each team only has two rounds to throw in the Kubbs. Not two rounds per Kubb.
- Kubbs may be thrown “sideways”, but still only with the underhand throw. These throws occur from the baseline.
- Kubbs may be thrown by anyone on the team.
- Kubbs that are knocked over and turned upright are counted as “off”. To qualify as “finished”, all four corners must have touched the ground.
- Kubbs that accidentally fall over are set upright as if nothing had happened.
- Kubbs that are pushed outside the field with a throw without falling over, must immediately be pushed back into the field so that at least half of the Kubb is within the playing field.
- A “Penalty-Kubb” must not be placed closer to the king or any of the marking sticks than the length of a throwing stick.
- Putting the Kubbs upright occurs over 1 of the 2 corners that touch the ground. When putting the Kubbs upright, it is not allowed to try both sides to see which is the most beneficial. The side that is chosen is the final side.
- If the Kubbs are not completely flat then the rule “minimal movement” applies, which means that the Kubb must be placed upright via the shortest side.
- If the Kubbs end up in a pile after throwing, start with the top Kubb and put it upright. Leaning Kubbs should be put up where the corner is already touching the ground (Minimal movement).
- If the entire Kubb is outside the field, it will not be valid, but if it is half inside, it will be valid.
- If at least half a Kubb is over the “sideline” when upright, then it is valid.
- Sloping Kubbs: Remove everything around the Kubb and see if it falls or remains. If it falls over, correct it for the next round.
- Kubbs that accidentally fall over, regardless of the reason, are set upright as if nothing had happened.
- Kubb hit by the throwing stick but not falling is considered fallen if he falls throughout the throwing round. After the last stick has been thrown, the defending team may correct the Kubbs.
- When a thrown throwing stick hits a field cube (which starts to wobble) and then hits a base cube that falls before the field cube falls, the base cube may be placed upright again.
Knock over the king
When the king is knocked over or thrown (accidentally or deliberately) then the game ends immediately. Only when you have overthrown all the opposing Kubbs are you allowed to overthrow the King from the baseline.
- The king may be corrected between throwing rounds.
- The king must be knocked over with a single throwing stick.
- If the line is crossed during the throw, the throw is invalid and the game continues as usual.
Have fun!