Mölkky – Throwing Skittles the Finnish Way
On one of the last days while all members of little group of the 2020 Mazunte Earthship Build - which eventually evolved into our very closely knit Quarantine Family - were still together, we accepted an invitation of a local French guy to spend the evening together. We had a great time hanging out on his mountain-top property, splitting firewood, preparing a barbecue, sharing drinks and some good laughs, and playing games. One of these games is called Mölkky, hails from Finland, and is played with a set of cylindrical wooden pegs, called skittles.
“Throwing Stuff Around? Count Me In!”
Once we got over the innitial horse-play of trying to figure out the rules - meaning trying to snatch up all the pieces before anyone else, using plenty of body-slams and other rambunctious behavior - we finally decided to look up the proper rules, and play the game like it was intended to. At first we had to set up the numbered pieces in the right order, according to a certain scheme.
Kinda Like Pétanque? Or More Like Bowling?
Then, using the slightly longer throwing pin, each player had to knock over as many pins as possible, standing at about 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) from the upright pins, and only throwing underhand. In order to be counted, a pin had to lie horizontally on the ground, giving the player a point for each fallen pin. Before the next player's turn, each pin was stood up where their pointy end was pointing, breaking up the cluster, and making the next turn more challenging.
Gambling on Bets
If someone felt certain to be able to knock over a specific pin, they could call out its number, and if successful, the double of that number would be added to their score. A sure way to surpass the rest of the players, especially if you aim for the skittles with high numbers. But be careful: in order to win you need to reach 50 points exactly. Should you surpass the fifty by even one point, the penalty is to go back to 25.
Another interesting feature of the scoring system is deducting 25 points from another player, who happens to have the same score you ended up having. With all these twists we were in for an exciting game, still more laughs, and a perfect activity for the last minutes of the fading daylight.
That looks like a pretty cool game actually.. add some adult beverages and call it a party
For sure! We had beer and rum to sip on, but you could just as well include them in the rules. Say, if you don't hit any skittles, you have to take a shot.
Good rule
This looks like a game we could play here in our compound. Something new to break the monotony.
@cecicastor!!! So nice to see you on Hive! How have you been? Have things calmed down in Nica, and around your area?
As for Mölkky, even though it is manufactured by only one company, in one town in Finland, it doesn't take much to cut up a dowel into short pieces and number them. And at that point you may even come up with your own rules to make the game most exciting.
Things have not changed much for us here in the compound except the Covid-19 hammering the population. I leave the compound once a month for supplies which are becoming scarce. We are going into our third year of "political unrest" and "economic down turn".
Oh okay, I realize, things are what they are. But it's so nice to see you back here, and also that you are safe in your home compound. I think the last I heard was that things were becoming so heated that you were considering leaving, which to me is an awful sign. Being forced from your home, especially after having taken care of the local children, would have been so horrible for everyone. But being on the land, I'm sure you and your community are going to face the challenges of virus/politics/economics. My best wishes! And now I can't wait to read your newest posts!
Thank you for your friendship and support. I haven't started posting yet but will very soon. I still need to be sure that my family and friends are safe.