Molkky Wooden Outdoor Game [Review]

Our family loves to spend time outdoors. Staying at home with my son gives me the opportunity to take him outside every day. Whether we are visiting a local park, picking green tomatoes from the garden, or just walking around the yard, we always feel better after getting some fresh air. When our extended family joins us, we take the outdoor games out of the garage and enjoy the outdoors. Molkky is an outdoor wooden game for all ages and all fitness levels. 

Molkky       
Rating: total green check marks out of 5.

The Good	The Not So Good
Made from solid unfinished PEFC wood	Unfinished wood is rough (needs sanding)
Suitable for all ages and group sizes	Wood gets dented after a few games

Molkky is an outdoor throwing game that comes from Scandinavia and some call it Viking Bowling. based on a combination of chance and throwing accuracy. Molkky is an updated version of an old Scandinavian "throwing game" called Kyykkä that has been around for hundreds of years. One of the best things about Molkky is that just about anyone can place, no  matter the age or the skill level. Groups of all sizes and ages can play together.

Usage: Molkky can be played on grass, gravel, beach, dirt, or any outdoor surface. The wooden pieces are sturdy. The Molkky set includes a wooden carrying crate. Everything is made from 100% natural and unfinished pine wood sourced from sustainable Finnish forest with PEFC certification. I love that this outdoor game is non-toxic and uses no chemicals to finish the wood. After a game simply clean the molkky pins with a damp washcloth.

Play: The pins are arranged in a formation and the skittle pin is thrown to try to knock down some of the pins (similar to bowling). The pins are round and roll after they are knocked down. Each turn the pins are put back up exactly where they rolled from the previous turn so the entire playing area starts to spread out. If a player can skillfully knock down only one pin their score for that turns equals the number on the top of the pin knock down the No. 12 pin 12 points. The first player to knock down exactly 50 points wins the game but be careful not to go over 50 points or you will go back to 25 points.

My Thoughts:

My two favorite things about Molkky is that the pieces are made from unfinished PEFC wood (no exposure to toxic chemicals) and that the game can be played by anyone. When our extended family gets together, we have kids anywhere from 2.5 years to 12 years and adults. Everyone can play this game together. The older kids were able to participate and had a good time playing on a team with the adults. My 2.5 year old son tried to stack the pieces on top of the skittle pin. On a hard surface like the drive way, the pins rolled away too easily, so we switched to grass and it worked much better to keep the pins in the same area.

My two least favorite things about Molkky is that the unfinished wooden pieces are rough. The pins need to be sanded to make the surface more smooth, especially if children are playing with the pins. For the higher price point, I would expect that the unfinished wood surface would be smooth. The pins also got dented after a few games (and some rough play from the kids), but this usually happens with wooden toys.

The wooden Molkky game is an investment, but the pieces will last for a long time in our house. I would like to see the company pay more attention to details like sanding the wooden pins to make them more smooth. I like the storage box and our family has enjoyed playing the game.

Disclosure: I received the product to facilitate this review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own and are honest.