--- id: kubb-throwing-wood title: "Kubb: Throwing Wood" summary: A game of Kubb for the Playdate, thrown with the crank. Jamie began it in November 2026, and it is not published yet. collection: Games status: active url: null started: 2026-11-13 topics: - play - agents sources: [] connections: - to: planet-kubb-score label: writes its games in detail: Every finished match is saved as a game file in Planet Kubb Notation, the system Jamie began on Planet Kubb in 2012. source: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/planet-kubb-score/ bundles: - id: the-throw title: The throw caption: One baton from wind-up to wood, on the practice pitch, as the Playdate Simulator drew it on November 13, 2026, the first day of building. - id: a-match title: A match caption: Two teams passing one Playdate, from the same day, and the first match played on the real thing. - id: the-brief title: The brief caption: What a design session was asked on November 13, 2026, with the game playing and no look yet, and five more screens from that day’s build to set beside the ones above. - id: woodcut title: "The look: Woodcut" caption: The look the design session settled the same day, three tones, hard shadows and a white pitch. Jamie approved it that day, and it is being built into the game. The boards set their words in two web fonts that stand in, Londrina Solid and Space Grotesk; the game is to draw its own 1-bit fonts. - id: woodcut-screens title: Screens in the new look caption: The screens from the brief drawn again in Woodcut, at twice the Playdate’s size. They are mock-ups, not captures. ASH and BIRCH stand in for team names, which the game cannot take yet. - id: later-screens title: Later screens, sketched caption: Parts of the game that are not built yet, sketched in the same session so the look is ready for them. The games, names and scores on them are made up. - id: launcher title: Launcher caption: How the game is to look on the Playdate’s home screen. artifacts: - file: wind-up.png title: The wind-up caption: The crank turned back past the bottom of its turn. The dial shows the arm, the dark arc is the backswing, and the five kubbs on the far baseline wait. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: the-throw url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/wind-up.png - file: baton-in-flight.png title: A baton in flight caption: Thrown at full power with 35 degrees of loft. The camera follows the baton down the pitch, and the small map in the corner shows the whole of it. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: the-throw url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/baton-in-flight.png - file: the-hit.png title: The hit caption: A baton coming off a base kubb, which has started to tip. The game slows down around a hit so it can be watched. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: the-throw url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/the-hit.png - file: three-kubbs.png title: Three kubbs and one baton caption: A low baton into three field kubbs standing together. Every piece is a solid body, so what falls is worked out, not chosen. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: the-throw url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/three-kubbs.png - file: hand-off.png title: The hand-off caption: The card between turns. Team A opens with two batons, Team B answers with four, and every turn after that has six. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: a-match url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/hand-off.png - file: team-b-view.png title: Team B’s turn caption: The pitch turned around for the other team, with one kubb to toss back before the batons. Whoever is throwing always throws up the screen. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: a-match url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/team-b-view.png - file: mid-turn.png title: Mid-turn caption: Team A’s second baton of six. The field kubb the first baton knocked down, and that baton, stay where they fell until the turn is over. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: a-match url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/mid-turn.png - file: winner.png title: The king is down caption: The end of a match the game played against itself as a test, five turns long. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: a-match url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/winner.png - file: first-match.txt title: The first match caption: The game file from the first match played on a Playdate, on November 13, 2026, in Planet Kubb Notation. Six turns in seven minutes, and it ended when Team B resigned. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: a-match url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/first-match.txt - file: design-brief.md title: The design brief caption: "Written for the design session: the game in one paragraph, the Playdate’s limits (400 by 240 pixels, black and white, about 8 milliseconds to draw a frame), what was wrong with each screen, and what to bring back. It names eleven captures of the game as it was; the ones not already shown above are in this bundle." date: 2026-11-13 bundle: the-brief url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/design-brief.md - file: before-title.png title: The title, before caption: The name in the system font, a two-line menu of Match and Practice pitch, and a rectangle, a circle and a triangle holding places. The brief called it a placeholder. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: the-brief url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/before-title.png - file: before-aim.png title: Aiming, before caption: Five base kubbs on the far baseline, the swing dial in the middle of the pitch with its prompt over it, and the loft at 35 degrees. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: the-brief url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/before-aim.png - file: before-king.png title: The king, before caption: A baton gone past the king at 27 percent. The crown reads, and the shading is one flat pattern. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: the-brief url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/before-king.png - file: before-drill-aim.png title: Throwing a kubb, before caption: "Aiming a kubb back across the pitch: a landing marker on the grass, a grey power band on the dial, and a note in the corner that the cut curls right." date: 2026-11-13 bundle: the-brief url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/before-drill-aim.png - file: before-drill-result.png title: Where it landed, before caption: A thrown kubb at rest beside its marker, ON at 59 percent, under a line of debugging numbers across the top of the screen. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: the-brief url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/before-drill-result.png - file: woodcut-style-sheet.png title: The style sheet caption: White is live wood, grey is wood that is down, and black is outline, shadow and anything spent. Kubbs, the king and batons at near, middle and far sizes, the line weights, grass tufts and stakes, and the rules for type and labels. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-style-sheet.png - file: woodcut-hud.png title: The HUD layout caption: A black rail along the top, three plaques along the bottom and nothing in the middle, with the place of each piece in screen pixels. The minimap sits bottom left and the swing gauge bottom right, beside the crank. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-hud.png - file: woodcut-hit-effects.png title: Hit effects caption: "Flash, burst and break-up for each kind of hit: TOK! for one kubb, KLAK and KLAK! for two with one baton, and KING!, where the whole screen inverts for the flash and the burst wears a crown." date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-hit-effects.png - file: woodcut-spec.md title: The written spec caption: "The look in words, to build from: the tones, line weights and pieces, every HUD position, the frames of each hit, the type, the drawing budget for each frame, the launcher, and the details still open. The SVG sources it mentions are not published here. Taken out: one sentence quoting Jamie’s approval." date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-spec.md - file: woodcut-title.png title: The title caption: The KUBB wordmark, its last B knocked over by a baton, above THROWING WOOD on a strip of grass. VS PLAYDATE and GAMES on the menu are for a computer opponent and saved games, which are still to come. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-title.png - file: woodcut-aim.png title: Aiming caption: The king on the centerline, five base kubbs on the far baseline, the rough past the lines, and WIND BACK over the gauge. Pips on the rail count the batons. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-aim.png - file: woodcut-flick.png title: The flick caption: The same view with the arm wound back, and the flag turned black for FLICK! date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-flick.png - file: woodcut-flight.png title: In flight caption: A baton in the air, white with two black bands and three speed lines behind it, thrown at full power. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-flight.png - file: woodcut-hit.png title: The hit caption: TOK! as a baton tips a base kubb, with chips flying off the burst. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-hit.png - file: woodcut-king.png title: The king caption: A baton gone past at 27 percent, and the flag says KING STANDS. The crown has four points, a black collar, a ring and one diamond. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-king.png - file: woodcut-mid-turn.png title: Mid-turn caption: Two field kubbs standing, one grey and down, and two black batons already thrown, so what is left to hit reads at a glance. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-mid-turn.png - file: woodcut-drill-aim.png title: Throwing a kubb caption: The kubb in the hand at the bottom, the landing marker out on the pitch, the grey band on the gauge, and CUT RIGHT while a button is held. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-drill-aim.png - file: woodcut-drill-result.png title: Where it landed caption: "The callout after a thrown kubb stops: ON, 17 centimeters from the mark, between SHORT and LONG." date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-drill-result.png - file: woodcut-hand-off.png title: The hand-off caption: PASS THE PLAYDATE TO BIRCH, what ASH just took, and what BIRCH throws next, three kubbs in and then six batons, beside a map of the pitch. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-hand-off.png - file: woodcut-winner.png title: The winner caption: ASH WINS, with the turns, the minutes and the hit rate, and a broken king in a burst. Its SAVED TO GAMES line is for saved games, which are still to come. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: woodcut-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-winner.png - file: sketch-raising.png title: Raising a kubb caption: Choosing which end of a fallen field kubb to lift, and where it will stand. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: later-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/sketch-raising.png - file: sketch-punishment-kubb.png title: The punishment kubb caption: Placing a kubb from above, with grey circles around the stakes where it may not go. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: later-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/sketch-punishment-kubb.png - file: sketch-names.png title: Naming the teams caption: A team’s name, up to ten letters, typed on the Playdate’s own keyboard, and the id it will have in the game file. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: later-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/sketch-names.png - file: sketch-games.png title: Saved games caption: Finished games in a list, with who won, how many turns and how long, and a scoresheet a button away. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: later-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/sketch-games.png - file: sketch-drills.png title: Practice drills caption: Five drills, 8 METERS first, with the best score, the last ten runs and the hit rate. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: later-screens url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/sketch-drills.png - file: woodcut-launcher.png title: Card, icon and launch image caption: The card at 350 by 155 with the title’s wordmark, whose last B tips over while the card is highlighted; the 32 by 32 icon, the king alone; and the launch image, the title without its menu. All pure black and white. date: 2026-11-13 bundle: launcher url: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/artifacts/woodcut-launcher.png page: https://thingelstad.xyz/things/kubb-throwing-wood/ --- # Kubb: Throwing Wood A game of Kubb for the Playdate, thrown with the crank. Jamie began it in November 2026, and it is not published yet. Kubb: Throwing Wood is a game of [Kubb](/things/planet-kubb/) for the [Playdate](https://play.date/), the small yellow handheld with a crank on its side. The crank is the throwing arm. Turned back past the bottom of its turn it winds up, and flicked forward it throws, with the speed of the flick and the length of the backswing setting the power. The d-pad walks the thrower along the line, B and the crank turn them left and right, and A and the crank set the loft. The pitch is five meters by eight, drawn in the Playdate’s black and white from behind the thrower. Batons, kubbs, the king and the six corner and midline stakes are solid bodies, so a baton tumbles, skids, glances off a stake, and knocks a kubb into its neighbour. A baton thrown side-on is a helicopter, and it does not count. A match is two teams passing one Playdate, played to the U.S. Championship rules with a 2-4-6 opening: kubbs tossed back in, field kubbs before base kubbs, the advantage line, and the king last. Each finished match is saved as a game file in [Planet Kubb Notation](/things/planet-kubb-score/). Jamie began it on November 13, 2026. Claude writes the code, in Lua, and Jamie plays each build on his Playdate and says what is wrong with it. It is not published yet. The same day, a design session gave it a look called [Woodcut](#artifacts-woodcut): three tones, hard shadows and a white pitch, with TOK, KLAK and KING bursting off the wood. Jamie approved it, and it is being built into the game.