Mölkky scoring rules
Mölkky is a Finnish throwing game with twelve numbered pins and a wooden baton. The scoring has one quirk that decides almost every game: you must land on exactly 50, not more.
Pins are stood in a tight cluster at the start and, once knocked over, are stood back up where they came to rest — so the cluster spreads as the game goes on.
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What a throw scores
- One pin knocked down: you score the number written on it, so up to 12 from a single pin.
- Two or more pins knocked down: you score the number of pins, not their values. Five pins is 5 points.
- A pin only counts as down when it is lying flat. Leaning on another pin or on the baton does not count.
Reaching 50 exactly
The first player to exactly 50 wins. Go over and you drop back to 25 and carry on, which turns a comfortable lead into a real risk: on 48, hitting a cluster is safer than hitting a high pin.
This is why the end of a game is played with single pins and careful aim rather than power.
Three misses and you are out
Miss every pin three times in a row and you are eliminated. A throw that knocks nothing down counts as a miss; the count resets as soon as you score.
Frequently asked questions
Your score drops back to 25 and you keep playing. You are not eliminated — but a player who overshoots twice has effectively lost the game.
You score the count of pins, not the sum of their numbers. Knocking down the 12, the 9 and the 3 is worth 3 points, not 24 — which is why aiming for the cluster is a low-scoring, low-risk play.
Yes, three consecutive misses eliminates you. Any scoring throw resets the count to zero.
From a marked line three to four metres from the original pin cluster. The throwing line does not move as the pins spread out, so the throws get longer through the game.