I recently started following Offerman Woodshop on Instagram and Facebook. If you are into woodworking, they are a good one to follow. It is lead by Nick Offerman (of Parks and Rec) in case you were wondering. I recently saw their post on making a yard game called Kubb, or Viking Chess and I knew immediately that was going to be my summer bucket list “fun only” project.

In case you’re wondering, this is how to play. (Trust me, watch this first, the game will make more sense.)

I ended up pseudo-following some plans from This Old House. I used only wood that was on hand leftover from other projects, so I had to make some plan changes. You’ll see how as I talk more about my set below.

The game has 17 pieces (21 if you want to make stakes to mark the playing field). The pieces consist of 10 skulls, 1 king, and 6 femurs. (The king isn’t pictured below yet.)

The skulls are trimmed down 4″ x 4″. I cut them to length (about 6″) first.

 

You could leave them just like that if you wanted, but I ran them through the table saw to trim down the width (about 3.25″). Just enough to differentiate from a full 4″ x 4″.

I used a router to round the edges, then used my belt sander (unconventionally) to smooth the edges and sides.

After the skulls were smoothed out, I decided I would cut a groove around the top for decorative detail.

For the femurs, I took a 2″ x 4″ and cut it into three 12″ pieces.

After that, I ripped it down the middle a couple of times to get 2 pieces that were 1.5″ squares and 12″ long.

I used the belt sander to smooth the corners of the femurs also. Mainly because these were the pieces you throw, and the smoothed edges are a little more comfortable in your hands (and a little less dangerous for splinters and such.)

They don’t have to be perfect since they’re supposed to resemble bones and since when they are used, they’ll get a little dented and scratched up anyway.

The last piece for the set was the king. I ran out of the 4″ x 4″ in my stash so I made one out of two 2″ x 4″ and a piece of 1/2″ mdf between them. This made kind of a cool look with a stripe down the middle even though you can see the screws on two sides where I attached the pieces together.

As you can see, I added some decorative details to the king since it is the “center piece” of the game. I cut 2 grooves out of the top to give a “crown” look. Then I cut 3 grooves around the middle, similar to the skulls, for added detail.

 

This was an easy project, and it turned out really well. I can’t wait until I get a chance to play. This is a project that anyone could make with a six foot 4″ x 4″ and six foot of 1″ dowel (or split a 2″ x 4″ in half like I did or just cut a 1″ x 2″ into 12 inch lengths). So go out and get your materials and make a set!

Have you ever heard of kubb? I hadn’t until recently, but it may turn out to be my new favorite tailgating game!