Games and sports were always well liked in the country-side. At feasts and celebrations, people met at the sports ground, which was an open space where the grass had been mown. There, people could play games and have feasts. It often lay a clearing in the woods, on a green meadow or at a cross-roads. Olaus Magnus writes in his history of the Nordic people: "The people of the Nordic countries have the tradition of meeting at a special place, during the early summer, on holidays and feast days." He also explains why people took part in sports and games: "to counteract the inconveniences of becoming fat and getting a stuffed and heavy belly". The farm-hands wanted to show how strong they were by lifting heavy blocks of stone. A kind of wrestling was also done: one seized each other at the waist and tried to break down the other. Running, jumping - both forwards and backwards - long jump with a pole, throwing the hammer, tug-of-war and stone throwing were sports that they practised.
One also played different kinds games for fun. "Throw the rolling-pin", "throw krokhas" or "pull-the-oxen" were such games. Everyone could play these games as well as the ball and skittle games. Different kinds of backgammon were also well liked among the peasants. The mill game was very much played, both by adults and by children.
The medieval Swedish word for sports ground is "vall". Even today, "vall" is part of the names of many sports grounds, for example Ryavallen in Borås, Värendsvallen in Växjö and Stora Valla in Degerfors.
You can read more about games and sports under "Town Life. Workdays and Holidays".
Kalmar Läns Museum has published two booklets about medieval sports and games.