Traditional & Popular Games - Sweden: Kubb, Varpa & Pärk

Let´s start this catalog about tradicional & popular games from all around the world with three games from the Viking Age that are still played in Gotland Island (Sweden). They are called  Kubb,  Varpa, and Pärk. 

• Name: KUBB

• History and origin:  

It is a modern version of an old and widespread European lawn game, but anyway the origins of the game are not clear.  It comes from the Viking age, although the modern version was created in the Island of Gotland in the late 1980´s.   

In Europe and the US, where kubb is a really popular sports with a big variety of championships and tournaments, today is often marketed as "Viking Chess", or as an “Old Norse Viking outdoor game”.  

In Wikipedia it is described as “a combination of bowling, horseshoes, and chess.”  

•  Participants:  Two teams.  From 2 players to any even number of players. Preferably less than 12 players with one kubb set. (to promote the participation) 

• Equipment:   Twenty-three game pieces. Ten Kubbs, rectangular wooden blocks 15 cm tall and 7 cm square on the end. One King, a larger wooden piece 30 cm tall and 9 cm square on the end, sometimes adorned with a crown design on the top. Six Batons, 30 cm long and 4.4 cm in diameter. Four Field Marking Pins, to designate the corners of the pitch and two to mark the centerline. 

• Rules:

   "To determine which team throws first, one member of each team throws one baton while attempting to land it closest to the king kubb without knocking it over. Assume for demonstration purposes that Team 1 was the closest. The game starts with Team 1 throwing four batons from behind the baseline at the base kubbs of Team 2. Tosses are underhand only and the kubb must tumble end over end and not side to side. 

   After all four batons have been thrown, Team 2 picks up the toppled base kubbs and tosses them so they land on Team 1’s half of the field. Team 1 stands up the kubbs, now called field kubbs, where they landed. Team 2 then attempts to knock over the field kubbs using six batons; only in the first round are participants limited to four batons. If successful in knocking down all field kubbs, Team 2 may then attempt to knock over Team 1’s base kubbs with any remaining batons. Team 1 picks up any toppled kubbs and likewise tosses them to Team 2’s side. However, if Team 2 in the previous round was unable to topple all of the field kubbs, Team 1 now has the advantage of being able to throw from the nearest upright field kubb instead of the baseline. 

   The game continues until one team has toppled all of the field and base kubbs of the other team. At this point, the leading team attempts to knock over the king kubb to then win the game. If either team prematurely knocks over the king kubb, the game is over." Matthew Cummiskey (2013).  

• School adaptation:    Although one Kubb´s full set costs around 220 SEK (25€), school often cannot afford to pay for this type of equipment. Therefore, making with the students our own Kubb set can be a funny and interesting activity in class.  This way, ours pupils will learn to cooperate as a group to make something, at the same time that they realized about how easy it is to make any kind of sports implement (balls, racquets, Frisbees,...) with cheap and recyclable materials. 

 - About the rules,  we can modify them to teach our pupils a bigger variety of body skills and learning:  Only throw with the no-dominant hand,  make the playing field bigger or smaller, use heavier or lighter materials to make the pieces, etc. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Name:  VARPA  

• History and Origin: 

Varpa is an old outdoor game. The game dates back to the Viking Age and survived in Gotland together with several other medieval or Viking games.  

The game can be described as a version of boles but played with a flat and heavy thrower known as "varpa" instead of balls. These used to be well-shaped stones, but nowadays aluminium is more popular. Varpa is an old word which simply means "to throw". 

By excavations on the isle of Gotland finds have been made quite clearly indicating that since centuries varpa must have been thrown there. 

The official competition rules by the Swedish Varpa Association do allow the use of stone varpas for certain exclusive competitions, and there are still great competitions of this sort especially on the Isle of Gotland. Stone varpa is a particularly proper game as a family and exercise sport, maybe especially because of the fact that it can be practised so quite easily. You will only need two sticks and foe each competitor a comparatively flat stone, and you can then have a go on any reasonably even grassy place, lawn or what have you. 

Varpa thrown in several countries but probably reached its greatest international audience in 1972 when it was exhibition sport at the Paralympics in Heidelberg, West Germany. 

• Participants:  You can compete individually or in teams consisting of two or three competitors and also as mixed competition. 

•  Equipment:  Two sticks or cones to mark the place from players should throw, and to mark the "goal". We also need the "varpas", stones or something heavy with any type of shape except rounded . 

• Rules:  There are two different forms of competitions, and they are known as centimetre varpa and "bumping" varpa. 

The most popular form of varpa is bumping varpa. The competitor to get his varpa in the position closest to the goal stick "is keeping the position" to his team, and his team mates are not to throw, until a member of the opposing team either has "taken" the position or "killed" it or equalized it. The competitor whose varpa after a completed round is in a position closest to the goal stick has gained one point, and he is then to start ("lay on") the next round (throwing in the opposite direction). The competitor or the team first to reach a total of 12 points has won the set. In a full game you normally ought to win 2 sets out of 3. 

• School adaptation:  The main adaptation for this game is related to the "varpas" that our students are going to throw. They shouldn´t be heavy due to security. So we can think about how to make them with alternative and reclycable materials. For example to get the half-rounded shape, we can use a funnel full of rice or sand and cover it with plastic tape. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Name: PÄRK

• History and Origin:  Pärk  is like an ancient kind of tennis game, played outdoors.  Like most of Swedish traditional games, it is still played in the island of Gotland. They are part of what has become called "Gutniska Lekar", and are performed preferably on the Midsummer's Eve celebration on the island, but also throughout the summer months.   
• Participants: Two teams of 7 players each one. A park man, two kasmötare, two halvdreivar and two langdreivar.  

•  Equipment: One ball (traditionally made of a tight ball of yarn that has been dressed in sheepskin), and cones to limit the field.

• Rules:

The field is 30 metres wide and can vary in length. The players hit the ball with their hands or kick it.  The Pärk (which is a box made of wooden slats)  itself works as serve ground. It is marked off with wooden laths and measures 2.1 X 0.7 metres. 

The game starts by one player serving with an underhand stroke the ball in the park, and the team's Park man returns the ball to the other field.  You get a point ("Take the land") by getting the ball to bounce twice or roll on the team's area. First to 40 points wins the park (the set). Best of 3 Parks wins the match.  

• School adaptation:   Like in any other sports game, we can modify the field to increase or decrease the difficulty. Of course also the ball´s size and weight can be replaced depending on the age and physical condition of our pupils.