Macklin, home of the world’s largest Bunnock, is a town of about 1500 people, located at the junction of Highways 17, 14 and 31. Macklin is most known for its love of Bunnock or, The Game of Bones, horse anklebones to be exact.

Bunnock has been compared to horseshoes, or a cross between curling and bowling. Two teams stand ten meters apart and take turns trying to knock down each other's row of bones. This is done by throwing bones at the standing bones, and must be done in a specific order.

The Game was brought to Canada sometime in the early 20th century by Russian and German immigrants, many of whom settled in Saskatchewan. It is a game that is thought to have been created by Russian soldiers to pass the time while stationed in northern Siberia.

Macklin’s Chief Administrative Officer and Bunnock tournament coordinator, Kim Gartner said of Bunnock, “Over the years we’ve perfected it and turned it into a game everyone can play.”


Macklin is gearing up to host the 27th annual Bunnock Championships. Every August long weekend, the town doubles its population with 1280 players in 320 teams coming from far and wide to compete.

Gartner claims that tournaments in past years have brought people from as far as Germany, Japan, Australia and Chile. This year’s furthest traveller will be visiting Macklin from South Africa.


The tournament will have 48 courts where games occur simultaneously. Every half hour, will have 96 teams playing. There are four people to a team, teams must be co-ed and in Bunnock, age is merely a number.
“Any age can play and any age can be competitive as long as you’ve got good hand-eye coordination,” shared Gartner, “One of the winning team members from last year was 84.”


While the tournament uses real horse bones, you’d be hard pressed to find the real deal anymore. Gartner said there are a couple of companies that manufacture synthetic bones if you want to try your hand at the game.


If you want to be part of the Bunnock fun, you’d better plan ahead, registration for the August event opens up April 1 each year and within six hours all spots will be filled.