TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Hi, all.  Here in the states no one has ever heard of the Aunt Sally game.  When I was in England for Cropredy last summer we were taught it.  Seems to be an Oxfordshire thing, if I'm not mistaken.  I'd like to build a set -- any help would be appreciated.  What kind of wood should be used for the tossing pieces, what size, how far to the post that holds the ball-like-thingy, what the heck is the ball-like-thingy...?

All sorts of information here:

http://sportsvl.com/rest/throwing.htm

Not surprising you'd never heard of it over there... I live not a hundred miles away in Nottinghamshire (home of Robin Hood) and we'd never heard of it either before we went to Cropredy for the first time!!

Few people outside of Oxfordshire have heard of Aunt Sally, other than being something to do with Wurzel Gummidge! It is hard to say why it is so specific to such a small area. Pubs pretty much anywhere else in the UK would have a bowling alley in place of the Aunt Sally pitch.

The Aunt Sally is the head of a doll. It shows the origins of the game as similar to several other ball games - after a battle, knock your dead enemy's heads around the battlefield with a stick ...

Apart from that, Neil's post pretty much covers the game, the pieces involved and where you can buy them if you wish.

If you can get a team together we'll take you on next Cropredy if you like  ;)

Cheers

Nick

I thought I knew what Aunt Sally was, but what is being talked about here is obviously different to what I know as Aunt Sally.  That is where someone is put behind a wooden cut-out, with their head poking through, and you throw wet sponges at them.  Usually the cut-out has a humorous picture (like a fat lady in a bathing costume) painted on it, so it looks funny when the vicar's (or whoever's) head appears on top.

That's what I thought Aunt Sally was as well. I wonder how many versions there are?

It sounds very much like a game we play at family get-togethers called Koobe (I have no idea ifs thats spelled correctly) which is supposedly based on an old Viking game....In Koobe "Aunt Sally" is called the King and is not raised off the ground. The King is centered between two rows of -slightly smaller than the King- pins. The opposing teams have to knock down the far pins before killing the King and claiming Victory.

There are some complicated rules of moving both your opponents pins and your throwing line closer to the center but basically it just having fun while throwing sticks!

PS: if FC ever makes it back to Maine we'll have to arrange a game...

Thanks for all your pointers.  It'll probably be another 5 years before I can afford to make it over to Cropredy again (especially if the dollar keeps going in its current direction), so maybe by then I'll have a team trained and ready....

A potted history of the game and a link to an online shop.................

http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Aunt-Sally.htm

Kubb (pronounces Koob) http://www.mastersgames.com/rules/kubb-rules.htm.... http://www.vikingkubb.co.uk/x/how_to_play.html

Thanks for the Kubb link, Martin.

our family all enjoy the game alot (introduced to us after some friends brought back a set from Scandinavian travels) We celebrate Mother's Day in the USA this sunday --along with several family birthdays--and we'll be gathering at my Mom's house, I'm sure there'll be a game or two played.