Mölkky may be Finland’s funniest export, with an intentionally out of style name
The popular yard game Mölkky was created at a sheltered workshop in Finland, using leftover wood. Since the late 2010s, around 100,000 sets have been sold annually in France. Interest outside Europe has also been rising.
All you need is a small, level patch of ground and a set of wooden pins, and you’re ready to begin your quest for Mölkky supremacy. The game tests players’ throwing accuracy and composure while they get to enjoy the fresh air. A bit of luck also plays a role.
The secret to Mölkky’s popularity might be that it’s easy to pick up and doesn’t demand peak physical fitness or years of practice.
In just over thirty years, Mölkky has earned its place as a beloved summer yard game in Finland. It has also grown into a major international phenomenon. Today, about half a million Mölkky sets are produced annually, and more than 95 percent are sold outside Finland.
Mölkky was originally developed at a sheltered workshop by Jouko Pylväs and his colleagues in the late 1980s, when they were brainstorming ideas for a company employing people with disabilities.
“The game was named Mölkky because the workshop staff wanted a name as far from trendy English names as possible.”
They used leftover industrial materials for the products. The box was fashioned from spare planks made by a company producing bed slats for Ikea—boards that were too knotty for beds. The pins were cut from leftover round rods from veneer production.
The new game was named Mölkky because the workshop staff wanted a name free of the era’s fashionable English influence. At the time, no one imagined that a few decades later, people around the world would be trying to pronounce it.
Production of Mölkky games began at the workshop in the early 1990s, and at first, the sets were mostly given as corporate gifts. Because the company had little money for marketing, it took a while for consumers to discover the new game. Over time, word of mouth spread about this fun and engaging summer pastime.
By the 2000s, Mölkky had established a solid foothold in Finland, and the game began making its way overseas.
Exports took off once the sheltered workshop started a marketing collaboration with board game manufacturer Tactic Games.
Production volumes soared in the early 2010s to over 100,000 sets a year, and just five years later, that number had already tripled.
The sheltered workshop’s production capacity was stretched to the limit, but expanding would have required a multi-million-euro investment in new technology—an investment the workshop couldn’t make.
In 2016, the Mölkky brand was sold to Tactic Games and production moved from to Tactic Games’ factory. They now buy so much timber for the game that Tactic Games has become Finland’s largest buyer of sawn birch.
The main export destination is France, where Mölkky has become a popular leisure activity among younger generations, even challenging the traditional pétanque.
Since the late 2010s, around 100,000 sets have been sold annually in France. Currently, the game’s popularity is rising most rapidly outside Europe, especially in Asian countries like Japan, as well as in the United States.
Over the years, Mölkky has also spawned new variants, such as Mölkky Mini. This version includes 12 mini pins, a mini throwing pin, a score pad, and instructions. The pins are so small that you can easily play on a tabletop.
The 2025 addition is Mölkky Pine, made entirely of pine.
