Kithon!® is an incredibly fun and exciting social game that brings together family, friends, or even work colleagues. Due to its uniqueness, the game is suitable for everyone, but winning requires precision, strategy and a bit of luck.
The idea for Kithon!® was born in the summer of 2021 among Finnish vacationers on the island of Hiiumaa in Estonia. Since then, the game has been played in smaller groups of vacationers, and in the summer of 2025, it will be launched as a new outdoor game available to all.
Kithon!® is full of excitement and twists. The highlight of a summer evening is the Kithon!® competition among your group, where everyone gets to participate and experience the feeling of success. Although one team wins the game, everyone can shine during the game, as the highlight is the so-called Kithon!, a throw that guarantees extra points in a single round.
Kithon!® is designed to be played in pairs, where players are divided into two-person teams, but the game can also be played individually. This makes the game suitable for 2-12 players. Different game variations can be found on the Rules page.
Gather your game group and set up your own Kithon!® game. You can also try the game at the low-threshold Kithon!® 2025 Tour, where you can participate with a friend in a tournament-style competition. The exact locations, times, and participation instructions for the Kithon!® 2025 Tour can be found on the Kithon!® 2025 Tour page.
1. Game Set Contents
- Game carrying bag
- Wooden upright pole
- 12 wooden balls in six different colors (red, yellow, blue, green, brown, and black), two balls per color
- Measuring tape
- Kithon score board leaflets
2. Game Setup
- Place the wooden upright pole on the ground so it stands, and set the throwing spot about 5 to 5.50 meters away from the upright pole (official distance is 5.50 meters). The throwing spot should be marked with a marker, such as the game carrying bag, a piece of wood, a brick, or another suitable object.
- Each two-person team receives two balls of the same color. There can be 2-6 teams. The game can also be played as an individual game, where the player plays with two balls of the same color.
3. Game Play
- The game consists of 12 rounds.
- Each team starts the round the same number of times, except in a game with five teams, where two teams start one extra time. In a game with five teams, the teams that start the 11th and 12th rounds are drawn either before the game or after the 10th round.
- The round begins with the team marked in dark on the Kithon score board, and then teams take turns throwing in order.
- A round consists of two throws. In the first throw, the team’s first player throws, and in the second throw, the team’s second player throws.
- Throws must be made from behind the marked throwing spot directly across from the upright pole. The player may not throw from the side.
- Once all players from each team have thrown their balls in the round, the points for the individual round are calculated. (See section 4 for point calculation.)
- After 12 rounds, the winning team is the one that has accumulated the most total points.
4. Scoring
- This section outlines the scoring in a game with six teams. (In section 5, there are separate score tables for two, three, four, and five team games.)
- The team closest to the pole in a round earns 14 points, the second closest earns 12 points, the third closest earns 10 points, and so on, decreasing by one point for each subsequent position (9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1).
- A unique feature of Kithon! is the Kithon! -throw, which allows the team that throws closest to the pole to earn extra points. The team earns these points if their ball hits the wooden upright pole during the throw. However, simply hitting the pole is not enough; the ball must also be the closest to the pole at the end of the round. A Kithon! -throw is a masterful performance. (The value of the Kithon! throw depends on the number of teams — see section 5 below.)
- Points for each round are recorded on the Kithon score board. For example, if the first player of the red team throws third closest and the second player throws fifth closest, the red team’s score for that round is 10 + 8 points = 18 points. The maximum points a team can earn in a single round is 31 points, which includes 19 points (including the 5 points for a Kithon! throw) and 12 points.
5. Point Calculation Tables for Different Numbers of Teams
Six-Team Game Round Scoring Table
- 14 points (+5 points for Kithon! -throw)
- 12 points
- 10 points
- 9 points
- 8 points
- 7 points
- 6 points
- 5 points
- 4 points
- 3 points
- 2 points
- 1 point
Five-Team Game Round Scoring Table
- 12 points (+4 points for Kithon! -throw)
- 10 points
- 8 points
- 7 points
- 6 points
- 5 points
- 4 points
- 3 points
- 2 points
- 1 point
Four-Team Game Round Scoring Table
- 10 points (+3 points for Kithon! -throw)
- 8 points
- 6 points
- 5 points
- 4 points
- 3 points
- 2 points
- 1 point
Three-Team Game Round Scoring Table
- 8 points (+3 points for Kithon! -throw)
- 6 points
- 4 points
- 3 points
- 2 points
- 1 point
Two-Team Game Round Scoring Table
- 5 points (+2 points for Kithon! -throw)
- 3 points
- 2 points
- 1 point