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Kubb vs ladder toss

Verdict first: this is a trade between capacity and simplicity. Kubb takes twelve people and needs explaining. Ladder toss takes four and needs nothing.

By Sawyer V.Published September 4, 2026Last updated September 4, 2026
Wooden kubb blocks and batons on a grass pitch

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Best for a small yard

Yard Games Ladder Toss (Double Wooden Ladder Ball)

A finished wood frame with real golf-ball bolas and a nylon case — the version that does not rattle apart the way tube-and-plastic ladder sets do.

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The published specs

Side by side

Kubb World Championship figures against the Yard Games ladder toss listing.
KubbLadder toss
Footprint5 x 8 m (about 16 x 26 ft, 430 sq ft)About 20 x 8 ft (about 160 sq ft)
Shape neededA rectangleA narrow strip
Players2 to 122 or 4
Throwing distanceUp to 8 m across the pitch15 ft
Equipment10 kubbs, 6 batons, a king, boundary markers2 frames, 6 bolas
Piece sizesKubbs 15 cm x 7 cm; king 30 cm; batons 30 cm x 4.4 cmBolas are real golf balls on a cord
ScoringFell the kubbs, then the king3 top rung, 2 middle, 1 bottom; first to exactly 21
Teaching timeAbout five minutesOne sentence
Game length20 to 40 minutesShort
Ground requirementNoneNone
MaterialHardwoodFinished wood and golf balls
Governing bodyKubb World ChampionshipNone — conventions vary

Player count

Capacity is the reason kubb exists in this catalogue

Almost every yard game tops out at four. Cornhole is 2 or 4. Kan Jam is exactly 4. Spikeball is 4. Ladder toss is 2 or 4. Bocce is 2 to 4.

Kubb publishes 2 to 12, and it means it — the game is two teams throwing six batons between them, so twelve people genuinely take turns inside one game rather than queueing for a board. If your problem is that eight people are standing around watching four people play, kubb is the only direct answer on this site.

The cost is a rectangle of lawn. 26 by 16 feet is more area than a cornhole court and a completely different shape from ladder toss's 20-foot strip. A long narrow yard takes ladder toss and will not take kubb.

For the crowd version of this argument, see yard games for large groups. If the space is the constraint, yard games for small yards.

The underrated case

Where ladder toss quietly wins

Ladder toss gets treated as the lesser game and it has three properties kubb does not.

Partial credit. The 3 / 2 / 1 rung scoring means a throw that missed its target still scores. That is the single biggest factor in whether a beginner keeps playing, and kubb has nothing equivalent — a missed baton is simply a missed baton.

Footprint shape. 20 by 8 feet fits across a driveway, down a side yard, or on the strip of grass between a patio and a fence. It is the second-smallest real throwing game we cover.

An exact finish. First to exactly 21 creates an endgame; a player on 19 needs a specific rung. Kubb's endgame is the king, which is dramatic but binary.

Both games travel well and neither needs level ground, so the decision really is capacity against simplicity. Set pages: best kubb sets and ladder toss. If you want kubb's crowd capacity in ladder toss's footprint, the answer is Molkky.

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.

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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.

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FAQ

Questions people actually ask

Which takes more players, kubb or ladder toss?
Kubb, by a wide margin. Kubb publishes 2 to 12 players, the widest range of any game we cover. Ladder toss publishes 2 or 4 and produces a queue at any gathering larger than that.
Which needs more space?
Kubb, at about 26 by 16 feet — roughly 430 square feet against ladder toss's 160. Kubb also needs a rectangle rather than a strip, which rules it out of narrow yards that take ladder toss comfortably.
Is kubb hard to learn?
Not hard, but it does need teaching. The Kubb World Championship rules cover baseline kubbs, field kubbs, the throwing order and the king, and it takes about five minutes to explain properly. Ladder toss is one sentence: throw a bola, top rung is 3, middle 2, bottom 1, first to exactly 21.
Which is better for a party?
It depends on the size. Under about eight guests, ladder toss, because nobody has to be taught and rounds are quick. Above that, kubb, because it is the only game we cover that absorbs a crowd into a single game rather than a queue — provided someone is willing to teach it.

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.

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Related pages

Two products laid side by side for comparison

Picks

Compare yard games

Seventeen head-to-heads with the verdict first and the published specs behind it.

Wooden kubb blocks standing on a grass pitch

Picks

Best kubb sets

2 to 12 players on a 5 by 8 meter pitch — three hardwood sets compared on published piece dimensions.

A wooden ladder toss frame set up on grass

Picks

Ladder toss

Roughly 20 by 8 feet, a 15-foot toss line and exactly 21 to win — the game for yards cornhole cannot fit.

Wooden blocks standing on a grass pitch for a Nordic lawn game

Comparison

Molkky vs kubb

430 square feet and 12 players versus 260 square feet and the best endgame in yard games.

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.