Our team had cleared all the back line kubbs, and we were ready to knock down the king kubb. The issue was that the other teams field kubb was sitting right in front of the king. What is the ruling if we knock down their field kubb in the process of knocking down the king.
George Sloan (Batavia, IL)
I like to refer to these scenarios as the “Friendly Fire” rules. They deal with blasting and inkasting when you may accidentally strike kubbs on your side of the pitch before striking the opponent’s field kubbs, or in this case the king.
Here’s what the rules say for inkasting:
If the thrown field kubb impacts a field kubb in the thrower’s half of the pitch, the previously standing field kubb is place back to its original location, and the thrown kubb is considered out of bounds.
U.S. National Rules, II.C.4(b)
Here’s what the rules say for throwing batons:
If field kubbs located in the attacking team’s half of the pitch are hit by the attacking team’s batons, those field kubbs and any toppled kubbs in the opponent’s half of the pitch, and king on game-ending king throws, are immediately placed back in their previous location. The baton is forfeited.
U.S. National Rules, II.B.11
So this situation is directly addressed on page 6 of the U.S. National Kubb Championship Rules under II.B.11.
As stated, if you hit that field kubb that was left behind the king, the result of the shot won’t count. So it doesn’t matter if the baton carries on after striking the kubb and knocks down the king, the game is not over. Plus you don’t lose the match either. The king would go back up, the field kubb would be put in front of the king again, and the baton is forfeited. If you have more batons, you would replace the kubb in front of the king prior to any more shots at the king.
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2 Comments
What if the Kubb on your side of the pitch is hit, but not toppled and then the king goes down? Does “hit” mean knocked parallel to the ground or any contact at all? Thanks!
When the baton hits a “friendly fire” kubb (kubb on the attackers side) first, it nullifies anything that happens after that. That kubb doesn’t need to be knocked down (or go parallel), the baton just needs to make contact with that kubb on their own side first.
It should be said that most times when this occurs, the baton deflects off in some wild direction because no blaster is intending to hit their own kubb first. This rule is believed to be put in place so teams can’t use a friendly fire kubb as a king pin for a blast when friendly fire kubbs are very close to field kubbs. This would occur when there is an advantage line that is close to the midline so you would have many kubbs close to one another.