Mölkky rules

What you need

A set has twelve numbered pins, from 1 to 12, one throwing pin called the Mölkky, and a mölkkaari that marks the throwing zone.

At the start the numbered pins stand together in the usual pack. The throwing line is about 3.5 m from the pins.

You can play one against one, or in teams. For a game with friends, that is enough. Find a reasonably flat place outside, set the pins down, and throw.

How the pins move

At the start, the twelve numbered pins are packed in the starting formation, 3.5 m away.

After each throw, if a pin falls, stand it up where it landed, from the base and not from the tip.

What a throw is worth

This is what sets Mölkky apart from a lot of other throwing games.

Knock down exactly one pin and you score the number on it. The 12 alone is 12. The 4 alone is 4.

Knock down two or more and you score one point per pin, whatever the numbers are. The 2, the 7, and the 12 together are 3. Not 21.

When a pin is down

A pin counts when it is fully on the ground.

A pin leaning on another pin, or still standing, does not count.

Going past 50

The aim is not to pile up as many points as you can. You need exactly 50.

If you have 48 and knock down the 5, you do not win. You went past 50, so the score goes back to 25.

Three misses

Fail to knock down any pin for three turns in a row and you are out.

A miss is not always a bad throw. Sometimes the pins are simply in the wrong place. Sometimes you are on 49 and would rather not risk it.

Touching the throwing zone, or stepping out past the front of it, can count as a miss. People often treat the mölkkaari like an invisible wall. Step back, then leave the zone to the side.

How you win

The first player or team to reach exactly 50 wins.

Go past 50 and you return to 25, still in the game. Three misses in a row and you are out.

For most games with friends, that is the whole game.

Teams

Mölkky works well in teams.

A team can be different sizes. Everyone throws in turn. The team shares one score.

At a tournament the organisers set the number of players, the match format, the rounds, and how a tie is broken. If you are entering one, read that event's rules. Do not assume every event uses the same format.

The mölkkout

Some formats use a mölkkout when two teams finish on the same score. It is a short run of throws, so you do not replay a whole round.

The mölkkout is the last way to decide between two teams on the same score.

For the mölkkout, pins 6, 4, 12, 10, and 8 stand in that order, one after another, with a gap the length of the throwing pin between them. The first pin, the 6, is 3.5 m from the throwing zone. When a pin falls, stand it back up on its starting spot. The usual scoring applies. One pin scores its number. Several pins score how many fell.

A draw decides which team starts. How many throws each player gets depends on the size of the team. The order for teams A and B is this.

• Teams of 1 player. A BB AA B
• Teams of 2 players. A BB AA BB A
• Teams of 3 players. A BB AA B
• Teams of 4 players. A BB AA BB A
• And so on.

When every throw is done, the team with more points wins the mölkkout. If they are still level, each player throws once more, until one team is ahead.