The twelve pins
A Mölkky set has twelve pins numbered 1 to 12, set out in four rows. Here is the exact layout, the sizes, and why twelve.
Updated August 13, 2026 · 4 min read
A Mölkky set contains twelve pins, numbered 1 to 12, plus the throwing stick. They start in a tight block four rows deep with 1 and 2 nearest the thrower and 7, 9, 8 at the back. Each pin is about 55 mm across and 150 mm tall, with the number on a slanted top face so it can be read from the throwing line.
The starting formation
Read from the back of the diagram forward, the four rows are:
| Row | Distance from thrower | Pins |
|---|---|---|
| Back | Furthest | 7, 9, 8 |
| Third | 5, 11, 12, 6 | |
| Second | 3, 10, 4 | |
| Front | Nearest | 1, 2 |
The pins touch each other at the start. The formation is squared up so that the front row is parallel to the throwing line, and it is the front pin — not the centre of the group — that the 3.5 metres is measured to.
Why the numbers are arranged like that
The layout is not decorative, and it is the single cleverest thing about the game's design.
Scoring has two modes: knock over one pin and you get its number; knock over two or more and you get the count of pins that fell. So the twelve pin is worth twelve points — but only if it falls alone.
Now look at where 11 and 12 sit: dead centre of the third row, wedged between 5 and 6, with 9 and 10 directly behind and in front. There is no line to the 12 that does not go past three other pins. Early in the game, when everything is still touching, a throw hard enough to reach it will scatter half the formation and score four or five instead of twelve.
The low numbers, meanwhile, are on the outside where they are easy to isolate. This is exactly backwards from what a player wants, and deliberately so: the pins that are easy to hit cleanly are the ones worth least.
That inversion is what stops the game being "aim at 12 every time". It only starts to break down late on, once the pins have scattered far enough that the high numbers stand alone — which is why a game that has run long often ends in a sudden twelve-point swing.
Dimensions
Every pin is cut off at an angle rather than flat, which does two jobs. It puts the number on a face angled towards the thrower so it is legible from 3.5 metres, and it gives the pin a slightly unpredictable roll when struck — a pin that catches the slant will spin away and take a neighbour with it.
Sets are traditionally birch. Cheaper sets use pine, which dents and splits faster; the numbers on a pine set usually wear off before the wood fails.
What counts as "down"
A pin scores only if it is lying flat on the ground. This matters more often than you would expect:
- A pin leaning on another pin does not count. Stand it back up on its own spot.
- A pin knocked out of the playing area still counts as down, and is stood back up where it stopped.
- A pin knocked over by another pin counts exactly the same as one hit by the mölkky.
- A pin the mölkky comes to rest against, without knocking over, does not count.
Every pin that fell is then stood back upright where it came to rest — not back in formation. That is the rule that makes the game evolve, and it is worth being strict about it, because a group that quietly re-forms the block is playing a much flatter game than the one designed.
Buying a set, briefly
Twelve pins plus a stick, in birch, in a carry bag, is the standard product and costs roughly €25–45. Things worth checking:
- Birch, not pine. Look for the wood named on the box.
- Printed or branded numbers, not stickers. Stickers come off in wet grass within a season.
- A bag with a flat base. A drawstring sack means you count the pins on every pack-up, in the dark, on a lawn.
Sets marked "official" or carrying the Mölkky trademark are made by Tactic Games, who acquired the original Lahden Paikka design. Generic sets are dimensionally the same and play identically.
Twelve pins, one number to reach
The app knows the layout, the scoring modes and the exact-fifty rule. Add names and it does the counting from the first throw.
Open the scorekeeperRelated
How Mölkky scoring works explains the one-pin and several-pin modes in full, with worked examples. What is Mölkky? is the overview, if you arrived here first.
Frequently asked questions
How many pins are in a Mölkky set?
Twelve, numbered 1 to 12, plus a thirteenth unnumbered piece — the throwing stick, which is itself called the mölkky. A set is therefore thirteen pieces of wood in total.
What is the starting layout of the 12 pins?
Four rows, closest to furthest from the thrower — 1 and 2; then 3, 10 and 4; then 5, 11, 12 and 6; then 7, 9 and 8. The pins touch, and the whole group is squared up to the throwing line.
Why are the numbers not in order?
So that no single throw is worth an easy fortune. The high numbers sit in the middle rows surrounded by low ones, which means a throw aimed at 11 or 12 will usually knock over neighbours too — and knocking over several pins scores the count, not the numbers.
How big is a Mölkky pin?
About 55 mm in diameter and 150 mm tall, cut off at a slant so the number faces the thrower. The throwing stick is the same diameter and about 225 mm long.
Keep reading
Let the app do the counting
Exactly fifty, the drop back to twenty-five, three misses and out. Add names and start scoring in ten seconds — no account, no signal needed.