Pub Night Ideas
We didn’t want to call this section “Crazy Ideas” 😉 – although, let’s be honest, not every idea was fueled by herbal tea alone.
Kilt'N'Strong is a passion project for us. We’re enthusiastic Highland Games athletes, and it makes us truly happy to see how much support our event has gained over the years.
And yet, even though we tell ourselves every year at the pub table, “Next year, we’ll take it easy,” new ideas always pop up – ideas we simply can’t let go of, and which, in the end, we bring to life.
It’s always an amazing feeling when an idea not only takes shape, but turns out even better than when we first scribbled it down.
We can’t wait to see what the next idea will be! Although… next year will definitely be calmer. 😉
2024 – The Free Beer Challenge
Originally conceived as a sponsor’s idea and inspired by our Caber Challenge, we wanted to create something fitting for our strength station – something where spectators could try their hand, have some fun, and maybe even win a prize.
That was the basic concept. Then somehow, a barrel, free beer, levers, and springs got involved – and the Free Beer Challenge was born!
The goal is simple: squeeze the two bars together and hold them until the beer mug is full. If you succeed, you’ll earn yourself a free beer at the Altenhof Highland Games.
The Free Beer Challenge can be loaded with up to 9 springs – that’s more than 90 kg (200 lbs) of resistance! 💪💪💪
Yes, you really have to earn that beer. 😊
Just like the Caber Challenge, the Free Beer Challenge is completely free for visitors at our events.
And of course, we always appreciate a 🤑like🤑! 😊
2023 - Caber Challenge
In 2023, we wanted to create something that would let visitors actively take part in Kilt’N’Strong.
Alongside the beer keg push, we were looking for a second challenge. Punching machines and similar games are fun, but they don’t quite fit the Kilt’N’Strong spirit.
What we needed was a Scottish version of “High Striker” – the classic fairground strength test!
The Caber Toss – flipping a log – is the most traditional Highland Games discipline, found nowhere else in quite the same form.
The real Caber Toss takes skill and can be dangerous for beginners. As a warm-up, athletes often use a log lying flat on the ground – and sometimes, just for fun, they try to spin it right there on the spot.
That’s where the idea struck:
Why not throw a log upwards while it’s lying down? If the log flips in the air, the player wins – or we measure the highest rotation angle the log achieves.
It took one or two prototypes (well… more like a hundred 😊) before the “machine” was finally ready to be built.
Our log is completely safe – it’s made of foam and can be extended up to 6 meters in length!
2023 Kilt'N'Strong Game of Clans
Thinking back to the creation of our very own card game still puts a smile on our faces.
We went into the whole thing so clueless and naïve – and yet, something truly unique came out of it. That alone makes us incredibly proud.
Most of our ideas have always revolved around the event itself. But then we asked ourselves: How can we create something that stays interesting even beyond the event?
It had to be for everyone – not just for strength sports enthusiasts. Creative and affordable enough that anyone could take it home if they wanted to. Something that reflects the spirit of the event: family-friendly and one of a kind!
The eureka moment came while playing cards with our kids:
Why not create our own card game called “Kilt’N’Strong” – so you can play the Highland Games right at home?
That was the starting shot!
The short story would go like this: rules set – design developed – production – done 😉. Well… maybe next time.
In reality, it took countless game nights, swapping cards in and out, playtesting the rules, over 30 individually designed card layouts – all reworked before final production – and countless prototypes again. That about sums up how we spent the last eight months.
At this point, a huge thank you goes out to our artist. The illustrations are what make the game truly special. The game concept itself is simple – but the design lifts it to a level we could never have imagined ourselves.
You can get the game in our Onlineshop.
2022 Mobile App Caber Challenge
Our Very First “Crazy Idea”!
At the beginning of 2022, no Kilt'N'Strong event had taken place yet, and our website was brand new – basically a blank landing page with just our logo, registration info, the date, and a couple of photos.
So how could we make the website more interesting?
The answer: Let’s just create an online game that people can play right on the site!
And so, the Online Caber Challenge was born.
The Highland Games discipline “Caber Toss” turned into a simple computer game: three difficulty levels, and the goal was to flip the caber. Fail, and you start again from the beginning. The last difficulty level was a real challenge – even we only managed it two or three times.
In 2023, we took it one step further and developed the online game into an app – which Apple Appstore and Google Play Store available completely free of charge.
And don’t worry – absolutely no annoying ads 😉.
