These games are fun activities with roots in Swedish culture. Including one or more of these in the program can help get the children actively involved:

• Choosing a Viking name: Kids can invent a new identity; see our activity sheet on Viking names
• Traditional playground games: Kids in Sweden play many of the same games kids play in other countries, such as jump rope, hopscotch, marbles, tug-of-war.
• Songs sung while dancing in a circle: There are many popular songs that everyone knows and can sing. Some of these have special actions associated with them. Some of these songs are used to sing and dance both around the maypole at midsummer and around the Christmas tree during the holidays. For examples, please see the songs page. We have pictures of this on the dance pictures page.
• Name chain: Stand in a ring and hold hands. Everyone swings their arms in rhythm to the rhyme "Now we shall braid a real chain. Who shall we braid into the chain?" Someone says their name, releases their hands, crosses their arms over their tummy, then grabs their friends hands again. Repeat the rhyme until everyone is standing close together with crossed arms. Change the rhyme and say "Now we have braided a real chain and it will hold till the end of life". On the last word, one person after the other in the circle flips under their top arm and stands with their face toward the outside. Continue until everyone is standing with their back toward the center of the ring.
• Turning pancakes (done in pairs): Stand face-to-face and hold each other's hands. Lift hands over your heads, keeping them grasped together. One turns toward the right, the other to the left, so at you turn around a rotation and return to the starting point. The movement is repeated faster and faster when both have gotten into the rhythm of it. (According to a note, this is also called "Lapp dance" or "Sami dance" and is one of the older games.)
• Hnefatafl is game with Viking roots.
• An overview of rules and variations of Hnefatafl by Sten Helmfrid
• An article about Hnefatafl Sire Bohémond de Nicée on the gamecabinet.com site
• Bräde, the Swedish version of a backgammon-style game.
• A Wikipedia article about this game
• A description in English from Haraldsbogymnasiet (a Swedish high school)
• Kubb: This game, which is a good social game played outdoors, comes from the island of Gotland (and some say it traces back to the time of the Vikings). It requires some simple pieces: 10 small rectangles of wood, 4 field markers to designate the field of the game, 6 batons to throw, and 1 piece (a "king") to place in the middle.
• A site for a group in the USA about the game kubb
• YouTube has videos of people playing Kubb; here are a pair we found that seem to do fairly well in giving a flavor of the game; you can search to find more:
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_G8dkZaXt0
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAdmsYlSNYc
• Fia med knuff: A board game commonly called Sorry in the United States.
• An article in Swedish