Cornhole is the default American backyard game and kubb is the one that people who buy both end up playing more. That is not a knock on cornhole — it is a difference in what the two games are for.
The spec sheet
The published figures
| Kubb | Cornhole | |
|---|---|---|
| Governing body | Kubb World Championship rules | ACL |
| Pitch | 5 m x 8 m (about 16 ft x 26 ft, 430 sq ft) | 33 ft x 10 ft (about 330 sq ft) |
| Shape of the space | Wide rectangle | Long corridor |
| Pieces | 10 kubbs, 6 batons, 1 king | 2 boards, 8 bags |
| Kubb size | 15 cm tall x 7 cm square | n/a |
| King | 30 cm tall x 9 cm square | n/a |
| Board | n/a | 4 ft x 2 ft, 48 in x 24 in |
| Players | 2 to 12 | 2 or 4 |
| Surface | Grass, sand, dirt | Any flat ground |
In play
The real difference
Cornhole is one throw, perfected
The same motion at the same target for an hour, and the pleasure is in your own improvement. It is the better game for two people who want to compete seriously in a small space, and the better game to leave set up permanently.
Kubb is a position that changes every turn
Knocked kubbs get thrown back into your opponent's half, so the battlefield reshapes constantly and a losing position can turn in one throw. That is why it holds twelve people: everyone has something to decide.
The shape of your lawn may decide it
Cornhole wants a 33 foot corridor and tolerates it being narrow. Kubb wants something closer to square. A long thin side yard takes cornhole and cannot take kubb; a short wide lawn is the reverse. See how much space do yard games need.
Learning curve
The first game you ever play
The gap between these two is widest at the very beginning, and it is worth knowing before you hand either one to a party.
Cornhole is understood in one throw
Get the bag on the board, better if it goes in the hole. A guest with a drink in one hand joins mid-game and needs no explanation at all. That accessibility is the entire reason it is the default American backyard game.
Kubb's first game is its worst game
The rules are simple to state and take a full game to feel: knocked kubbs are thrown back into your half and stood up, so knocking too many down too early actively hurts you. Almost nobody believes that until it happens to them. The second game is where kubb becomes the better game, and the first is where people decide it is confusing.
The practical consequence: if you are buying for a party of people who have never played, cornhole will get used that afternoon and kubb may not. If you are buying for a household that will play repeatedly, kubb rewards the investment. Read how to play kubb out loud before the first game, and it skips most of that first bad game entirely.
The other side
Where to buy the other one
The card at the top of this page covers one side of the comparison. This is our current pick for the other, ranked on published specifications rather than on play we have not done.
Best overall
Yard Games Kubb Premium Size Set
Yard Games
Hardwood kubb with a case, printed instructions and — the part that matters — boundary markers, so the 5 x 8 m pitch is set correctly the first time.
Skip this if
Skip this if your only space is 20 ft long. The pitch is 8 m end to end and shortening it breaks the throwing distances the game is built on.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
Which takes more space, kubb or cornhole?
Which is better for a large group?
Which is easier to learn?
Why you can check our work
We have not played these. Every figure above is copied from a manufacturer's published listing or a governing body's published rules, and named so you can verify it. Where a maker publishes nothing, the field is blank rather than filled in. How we pick explains the whole method, including what would change a recommendation.
Read next
Related pages
Picks
Compare yard games
Twenty-one head-to-heads with the verdict first and the published specs behind it.
Picks
Best kubb sets
2 to 12 players on a 5 by 8 meter pitch — three hardwood sets compared on published piece dimensions.
Picks
Best cornhole boards
Five regulation sets ranked on published surface thickness, frame construction, weight and bags.
Guide
How to play kubb
Pitch setup, turn sequence and the king rule — from the Kubb World Championship specification.
Guide
Kubb court dimensions
5 m by 8 m, four corner stakes, the king in the middle — every published dimension and distance, and how to mark it out.
Sources
Every figure on this page is copied from one of these sources. If you find one that is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.