The reasoning behind this name has been subject to some speculation and debate. One theory, put forth by Edmund Johansen, a veteran player of the game, to the French researcher Alan Borvo, is that "fine" in this case is a euphemism for "offering", used to avoid the wrath of Christian priests and evangelists. Sáhkku was considered a sinful game by such people, who saw traces of Sámi pre-Christian worship in it, and called it "The Devil's Game". According to Johansen's theory, it was in fact correct that the "King" piece had earlier been seen by players as representing a non-Christian deity in the game, and that the men's and women's "recruiting" of it implicitly happens through offerings.