June 24th, 2009
An outdoor game that you can make yourself for under $10? That’s Mölkky! From the moment I learned about this game I’ve been excited to check it out. Even a sloppy, semi-capable carpenter like myself can chop up pieces of wood and number them. This is a game that almost anybody can make, and for a really great price.
First off… what is Mölkky?? I like to refer to Mölkky as “Yard Bowling.” Basically, Mölkky consists of tossing a short piece of wood ( the Mölkky ) toward 12 numbered pins ( the Skittles ). If you knock down one Skittle, you get as many points as the number on the pin. If you knock down several of the Skittles, you get 1 point per fallen Skittle. Games are played to exactly 50 points. Check here for more Rules and Building Info.
How to Make a Mölkky Game
First off, you’ll need to find wood. Mölkky is most commonly played with round, 2.5″ dimeter wood pieces. Good luck finding anything that size. After searching far and wide, I ended up finding 3″ beams intended as fence posts. For $5.90, the price was right.- The fence post I purchased was pretty raw and rough. I went over it with some really high grit sand paper to knock down the bigger sliver pieces. This took a little time, but made the finished pieces much higher quality. I used a palm sander, but a belt sander would have sped up the process.
- Once you’re sanded, it’s time to chop your pieces. The common size for a Skittle is 6″ tall ( to the high point ). Since I used a wider piece of wood to begin with, I ended up making my Skittles taller. I cut a 12″ piece from my fence post, then cut that in half at a 45 degree angle. That gave me pieces that are roughly 7.25″ tall ( 4.5″ short side ). Pick a size and go with it! You could even mix it up and have the pieces be all sorts of sizes. The tossing stick ( Mölkky ) I cut to 9″. This left me with about a foot of leftover fence post. You could make an extra tossing stick with it – which would be kind of nice to have, really. ( maybe even have 2 sizes )
- Next I took my cut pieces and prettied them up a bit. This wasn’t the best wood in the world, and most pieces have a split on them someplace, including the throwing stick. Since you handle the Mölkky a lot, I puttied the cracked spot with some water based wood putty. No promises that will stay in there forever, but the big crack would have bothered me.
- For the Skittles, I wanted to soften the edges a little. I quickly hit all cut edges and the number face with 120 grit sandpaper. This dulls the edges, and makes the number face a little smoother for the numbers you’ll be adding.
- Time to add the numbers. I gave everything a quick wipe down to remove the dust from sanding. Next, I drew numbers on the Skittles with a pencil. You could skip that part, but it cuts down any marker mistakes… I used a Sharpee for drawing the numbers. I wider marker would have worked better, but I went with what was handy.
- We’re sanded, cut, sanded, and numbered. Next up is finishing the pieces. I used some old polyurethane floor finish I had around. Use whatever you want. Paint, stain, poly, or even leave them raw. I ended up putting on about 3 coats before I was happy with the finish. This rough wood took a few coats to get as smooth as I wanted. I hit it with 220 sandpaper between the 2nd and 3rd coat to knock down any raised edges.
That’s it! This game is REALLY easy to make. All it took was a $6 piece of fencing, sandpaper, a marker, and some finish. If you’ve got a saw around the house, you can make this game!
I mentioned earlier that I used 3″ wood instead of the standard 2.5″. Now that I’ve played the game, I think that’s the only way to go. The 3″ pieces can be hard to stand on grass – so 2.5″ would have been even harder. Also, the added size makes for bigger targets. To me that’s more fun!
If you can’t find any 3″ fence beam like I did, you can still use several things to make a Mölkky game. There are several types of landscaping timber that would be okay, you could rip down 4×4’s to work, or you could even use pieces of PVC pipe. I read about one guy who loves to play that way. Be creative. Mölkky is cheap to make and fun to play. Well worth checking out.
Mölkky Game Links:
Game Rules
Molkky Forum
Molkky Photo Gallery
Making Molkky Gallery
Game Building
Mölkky Information
Tags: "How To", building, customization, games, Mölkky, Outdoor Games
Posted in "How To", Mölkky | No Comments »
June 12th, 2009
Members of the CornholePlayers.net community have started a movement to send Cornhole boards and bags over to our men and women fighting in Iraq/Afghanistan!
With help from a group called Soldiers Angels, the community members are hoping to get a few sets of Cornhole boards sent to the troops.
To get things started, forum member Milky has volunteered to buy the material and build the first set of boards. Members of the site will come up with a design, make it, and ship it to North Carolina (Soldiers Angels will cover the overseas shipping costs). PayPal donations will help to cover the shipping costs to NC.
See the forum thread for full information.
The first set will be built & customized by Milky, and will be a REALLY nice set. We didn’t want to stop there, though. We’ve teamed up with iCornhole.com to send additional boards! For every $110 we’re able to raise, we will be able to send a set of painted boards, with bags, to the troops!
If you’d like to help, you can send donations through PayPal.
Donate via PayPal to: mmiehlke@comcast.net
PLEASE be sure to put “Cornhole For The Troops” in the message box.
Even if you can only give a bit, remember that every little bit helps! As we head toward the 4th of July, remember the troops, and help us send Cornhole Boards overseas!
Thanks!!
Cornhole For the Troops Forum Thread
Tags: bags, boards, Cornhole, fundraiser, news, troops
Posted in Cornhole, In The News | No Comments »
June 4th, 2009
The Times Herald ran an article today to feature the awesome cornhole board making skills of Mark Miehlke, better known as “Milky” in the Cornhole Players Forum.
The full story tells how Milky first learned of the game in preparation for a Jimmy Buffett show. It goes on to tell how Milky’s building and customization skills have turned his new hobby into a quickly growing small business!
Click here to read the full story.
Related Links:
Philly Cornhole Website
Milky’s announcement in the forum.
Milky’s forum Introduction
Cornhole Players Forum
Tags: Cornhole, news
Posted in In The News | No Comments »
May 15th, 2009
Kubb Game information
Kubb is a Swedish game that is well described as a cross between horseshoes and bowling.
The ultimate object of the game is to knock over the “King” piece before your opponent does. Along the way, the game requires a mixture of strategy and skill. This combination of skill and strategy has led many to call the game “Viking Chess.” But unlike chess, and more like billiards, knocking the king down early causes you to lose the game!
The game can be played on a variety of surfaces such as sand, concrete, grass, or even ice!
Kubb is a very easy game to make yourself, and a great way to get started on a new Outdoor Game without breaking the bank.
Game pieces
- 1 King
- 10 Kubbs
- 6 Throwing Sticks ( or casting pins )
- 4 Corner Pins
How To Play
- The game is played on a level field or open area defined by the four Corner Pins. Most commonly played on a sandy beach or a level lawn.
- The ten Kubb are placed on end, 5 on each team’s base line.
- The objective is for players standing at their base line to topple all 5 of the opposing team’s Kubb with an underhanded toss of the six Throwing Sticks, and to then topple the King ( which is placed in the center of the playing field )
Playing area
Playing Field
- The Corner Pins define the playing field.
- The field is rectangular and usually ranges from 7 to 15 feet wide by 15 to 30 feet long.
- The shorter sides of the rectangle become the respective base line of each team while the longer sides establish the sidelines or inbound playing area.
Kubb Placement
- Each team places their 5 Kubb at even intervals along their respective base line, but no closer than one Kubb length from either Corner Pin.
* They may not be embedded in the surface to the point that they become difficult to knock over.
- The King is placed half way between the two base lines, centered between the two sidelines.
Rules
Teams
- The players are divided into two teams, ranging from 1 to 6 players per team.
- The Throwing Sticks are distributed equally among the players of the teams
* If only one player, that player would toss all six Sticks. For six players, each team member have one to toss.
* In the case of four or five team members, the extra Sticks would be rotated among the team members so that each player in turn would have an opportunity to throw a second pin.
- To determine which team will begin, one person from each side will toss a Throwing Stick toward the King. The team landing closest to the King without knocking it over starts the game.
Game Play
- Sticks are tossed underhand, and may rotate only in a vertical, end-over-end manner and not in a helicopter-like horizontal or sideways rotation.
- Sticks must be thrown from behind the team’s base line.
- Each member of the team tosses their Sticks at one of the opposing team’s Kubbs, attempting to knock it over.
- A Kubb is removed for the rest of the game once the opposing team has knocked it over.
* A Kubb is considered toppled if it should come to rest in a tilted manner supported by another game piece.
- The King sits in the middle of the playing field. The first team to successfully knock over all the opposing team’s Kubbs then has the opportunity to topple the King and win the game.
- Toppling of the King prior to having toppled all of the opposing team’s Kubbs constitutes an automatic loss of the game.
Kubb Game Links:
Game Rules
Kubb Forum
Photo Gallery
Game Building
Kubb Information
Tags: games, how to play, kubb, Outdoor Games, rules, set up
Posted in "In a Nutshell" | No Comments »
April 30th, 2009
What’s your favorite game?
We’ve got a bunch of games here at Outdoor Game Players, and we want to know… Which game is your favorite? Is it Ladder Golf? Maybe Kubb? Cornhole, Washers, or Mölkky? Maybe even something we don’t have featured yet!
We’ve teamed up with We Sell Cornhole to give Hillbilly Golf Balls or a set of Washers to 4 lucky winners.
Getting the chance to win is easy. All you have to do is post to the contest thread in the Outdoor Game Players forum, and tell us about your favorite game. The answers can be short and sweet, or you can tell us why you like the game. It’s up to you!
At the end of the contest, 4 winners will be chosen at random from all of the people who post. The winners will receive their choice of either a set of Hillbilly Golf Balls or a set of Washers.
Contest runs through May 31st.
Tags: bolos, contest, games, Outdoor Games, Washers
Posted in Contests / Promotions | No Comments »
April 28th, 2009
Put together a set of building instructions for 3′x2′ cornhole boards for you could win a set of Cornhole Lanterns!
A lot of people are building 3′x2′ cornhole boards, but Cornhole Players doesn’t have a decent set of directions yet. They don’t have to be a work of art, we just need something to put on our building page so people can build some boards. If you search around the site, you’ll find the dimensions that people have used – or create your own!
We’ve teamed up with the people who make the Cornhole Lantern to give sets of Cornhole Lanterns to the creators of the best 3 sets of building instructions!
So give it a shot, you just might be good enough to win! For more information, check out the Cornhole Players contest page.
Email entries to jeremy@cornholeplayers.net. Please use .doc or simple text formatting. Promotion runs April 26th to May 17, 2009.
Tags: boards, building, contest, Cornhole, instructions
Posted in Cornhole | 2 Comments »
April 12th, 2009
If you’re looking for a game that’s fun, simple, and cheap to assemble, Ladder Toss is the game for you! The ladders are easy to create and assemble yourself, with just a quick trip to a home improvement store and about $20. The golf ball bolos are something you can make yourself or grab online for about $20. Ladder Toss is a great game that you can take with you anywhere.
The ability to take your ladders apart means that you’ll always have room to take this game along with you. The game pieces are light enough that players both young and old will be able to compete.
Ladder Toss — “In a Nutshell”
Equipment:
- 2 – Ladder Toss Ladders
- 6 – bolos ( or bolas ). 3 of each color.
Set Up:
- Place the Ladders 15 to 21 feet apart
( Adjust the distance, accordingly. Shorter for younger players is fine )
- Give 3 bolos to each team. ( different colors for each team )
Game Play: ( doubles )
- Partners shall stand across from each other at opposite ladders.
- Each team has 3 bolos. All 6 bolos start on the same side.
- Decide who goes first. You could flip a coin, toss a single bolo for high score, or just agree between players.
- Players alternate throwing one bolo at a time until all 3 are tossed.
- After all 6 bolos are tossed, teams count the points scored during the round.
- After scoring, the players on the opposite end will then take their turns in the same manner. The team scoring the most points in the previous round will throw first to start the turn.
- Game is played to 21 points.
- Singles Play: the players will both walk to the opposite end, throwing the next set from there.
Scoring:
3 points -top ladder rung
2 points – middle ladder rung
1 point – bottom ladder rung
- Scoring is done by cancellation. After each round, the difference between both players scores is the score given to the highest scoring player. If both players score the same amount, no one will receive any points.
Examples
- Team A hangs a bolo on the top rung for 3 points and one on the middle rung for 5 total points. Team B hangs 2 bolos on the bottom rung and one on the middle rung for a total of 4 points. Team A would score 1 point for the round.
- Team A hangs one bolo on each rung for a total of 6 points. Team B hangs two bolos on the top rung for a 6 points. As each team has scored the same amount, the points cancel out and no points are gained.
Additional Info:
Ladder Toss is known by several other names, too. You might also hear it called Ladder Golf, Bolo Toss, Polish Horseshoes, Hillbilly Horseshoes, Hillbilly golf, redneck golf, Ladder Ball, Monkey Balls, Testicle Toss, Monkey Ball, Dingle Balls or one of the other 100 names!
Ladder Toss Game Links:
Game Rules
Ladder Golf Forum
Photo Gallery
Game Building
Game Building Article
Ladder Golf Information
Tags: how to play, instructions, Ladder Golf, Outdoor Games, rules, set up
Posted in "In a Nutshell" | No Comments »
April 4th, 2009
Sometimes is fun to mix things up a little. The same holds true for Cornhole! As the third of three guest blog articles from tednwv, we’re featuring Alternate Cornhole Games. These “Carnival Games” or “Skill Games” are often played by people in the downtime between their official rounds. They are a great way to help break up the day, and they’re quick and easy – so they don’t cut into your tournament play either! We’ve put together a list of some of the most popular alternate cornhole games that you might find yourself playing at a tournament. Enjoy!
Skill Games: Alternate Cornhole Games
7/21
- OBJECT: Closes score to 21 after tossing 7 bags wins. 21 is the max points to get if you sink all 7 bags in the hole.
- RULES: Players will get 7 cornhole bags. Player will toss bags from behind a line which is marked off 33’ 6” from center of hole on cornhole board. Player will pitch all 7 bags, trying to score as many points as possible.
- SCORING: 1 point for bag on board and 3 points for cornholes. Perfect game is 7 for 7 (21 points). Hence the name 7/21.
- GAME PLAY: You can play this by rounds of 5, 8, 10 or how many ever players you decide. The top 3 in the 1st round of a 5 person game advances to the next round. Second round, one person will be eliminated leaving 2 people to play for championship in round 3. Similar to Home Run Derby in baseball. Only so many players can advance from one round to the next. It can even be played as the highest points for the whole day! When people get time to come over and play, they throw their 7 bags and keep a bulletin board near the playing area with the totals right there. Tie’s will have to have a tie breaker or throw off.
- A normal fee for this is $5 or $10. You can split the pot so winner get’s half or winner takes all.
Air Mail
- OBJECT: Make as many “air mails” as possible pitching eight total bags.
- RULES: Player starts with eight bags and pitches them from 33’ 6” away at the air mail box. Player making the most out of eight bags is crowned the champion and get’s the money! You can also play this by rounds.
- A normal fee for this is $5 or $10. You can split the pot so winner gets half or do a winner takes all.
- ALTERNATE: A little different version with four throwing lines. 33ft.=4 pts. 30ft=3 pts. 27ft=2 pts. and 24ft=1 pt
High Score
- OBJECT: Highest score wins.
- RULES: Throw 10 bags (or less or more? up to you again). Whoever has the highest score wins! This can be done every 15 minutes or so with a small donation. Or it can be done as highest total for the day. The most points from throwing 10 bags will get the money. Playoff for tie breakers.
- NOTES: The key is to not make it extremely expensive to play so people will play several times throughout the day. You can even charge a $1! Or if you have a sponsor, make it FREE to play and winner get’s “blah, blah, blah from Joe Schmo Incorporated.”
Cornhole13
- OBJECT: Make 13 cornholes faster than any other player.
- RULES: Players will play as individuals. Each player will have 4 bags to pitch. Space boards 27′ apart (front to front). Have a stop clock ready.
- GAME PLAY: Players run back and forth trying to make cornholes as quick as possible. Players compete to have the day’s best overall time. The player with the best time will be the official winner of the game.
- OPTIONAL: This can also be done like a drag race. Have 2 players going at once. The first one to make 13 cornholes wins and advances.
- OPTIONAL: You can even change it to where players are going for 13 points instead of cornholes. Maybe even try to 21? Possibilities are endless!
- A normal fee for this is $5 or $10. You can split the pot so winner gets half or do a winner takes all.
- ALTERNATE: Let everyone throw for two minutes and thriteen seconds. Keep track of the highest scores, 13 being the cut off even if time is lef. At the end of the day have the players with the top four scores compete for two minutes and thirteen seconds at the same time to see who can score the most cornholes in the alloted time.
Long Toss
- OBJECT: Pretty self explanatory. Longest toss in the hole wins!
- RULES: However you want. Start with close boards and give people several bags. Anyone who tosses a bag in the hole moves on to the next round.
More?
We’ve listed a few games, but I’m sure there are a bunch we’ve missed! What are your favorite games to play? Do you play any of these, only a bit different? Please let us know! Use the comment box below to share your thoughts.
Guest article by Ted Dillon, Cornhole Forum member “tednwv“.
Edited by Jeremy. Add’l information gathered in the Cornhole Players Forum.
Tags: alternate games, Cornhole, how to play, rules
Posted in Cornhole | No Comments »
