Farkle

What You Need

• 6 dice
• Paper and a pencil for the scores
• A cup to roll from helps, but it is optional

Setup

Each player rolls one die. High roll goes first. Write both names on the score sheet. Agree on the scoring table before the first roll. Farkle has more house rules than any dice game we know, and arguing over a straight in the middle of a game is no fun.

How a Turn Works

1. Roll all six dice.
2. Look for scoring dice or combinations. If nothing scores, you have farkled. Your turn ends with zero for the turn.
3. Set aside at least one scoring die or combination. You may set aside more, but you do not have to.
4. Decide. Bank the points you set aside this turn and end your turn, or roll the remaining dice for more.
5. If you roll again and nothing scores, that is a farkle. You lose every point you set aside this turn. Your banked score from earlier turns is safe.
6. Hot dice. If all six dice end up set aside as scorers, roll all six again and keep adding to the same turn total. You may bank instead.

Combinations only count when they come up in a single throw. Two 1s set aside on your first roll plus a third 1 on the next roll are three single 1s, worth 300. They are not three of a kind.

Scoring Table

• Single 1: 100 points
• Single 5: 50 points
• Three 1s: 1,000 points
• Three 2s: 200 points
• Three 3s: 300 points
• Three 4s: 400 points
• Three 5s: 500 points
• Three 6s: 600 points
• Four of a kind: 1,000 points
• Five of a kind: 2,000 points
• Six of a kind: 3,000 points
• Three pairs: 1,500 points
• Straight 1-2-3-4-5-6: 1,500 points
• Two triplets: 2,500 points

A lone 2, 3, 4 or 6 scores nothing. Only 1s and 5s score as single dice.

Getting on the Board

Many tables make you score at least 500 points in one turn before you can bank anything. Until you do, you keep rolling until you pass 500 or farkle. After your first bank, any amount can be banked.

Winning

The first player to reach 10,000 points starts the last round. The other player gets one more turn to beat that total. Highest score wins. If the scores are tied after that turn, play another full round.

Two-Player Notes

Farkle is written for 2 or more players. Two works fine and plays faster. The first player gets first crack at 10,000, so alternate who starts across games.

Strategy Tips

• With 6 dice in hand, the farkle chance on a roll is about 2 percent. With 3 dice it is about 28 percent. With 1 die it is 67 percent. Bank when you are down to two dice unless you are far behind.
• Do not set aside every scoring die by reflex. Keeping a lone 5 in play to roll four dice instead of three is often worth more than 50 points.
• If your opponent sits at 9,000, stop playing safe. Roll for hot dice.

Variations

• Four, five and six of a kind as double, quadruple and eight times the three-of-a-kind value. Six 1s then pay 8,000, or win the game outright under some house rules.
• Straight worth 2,500 or 3,000 instead of 1,500. Three pairs worth 500, 750 or 2,000.
• Four of a kind plus a pair worth 1,500.
• Three farkles in a row costs you 1,000 points. Some tables say 500.
• No opening threshold. Or a threshold on every turn, 300 or 350, before you may bank.
• Welfare. You must land on exactly 10,000. Overshoot, and the points from that turn go to the player with the lower score.
• Toxic twos. Four or more 2s in one roll wipe out your whole score, not just the turn.