If you are looking for a clear explanation of Farkle rules, you need not look any further. Going through this article will acquaint you with this addictive game of chance.
Farkle in a Nutshell
- Farkle is a game of chance. You roll six dice and score for certain specific dice combinations.
- After each roll, you bank your score, remove the scoring dice and keep rolling the remaining ones.
- If your roll scores no points, you are farkled and lose all accumulated points for that round.
- 1s and 5s are the only singles that earn you points.
- Otherwise only triples, quads and certain other combinations (like three pairs and a straight 1-2-3-4-5-6) earn points. The detailed scoring chart is provided below.
Dice symbolizes Luck or Chance, that plays such a big role in our lives. Farkle is a popular game played all over the world which gives you a taste of luck, dished out by the rolling dice. The game is known by various other names like Zilch, Farkel, Hot Dice, Buzzball, Squelch and Wimp Out. Though the basic rules remain the same, the scoring and other intricacies of the game may vary. It is a game that can be played by two or more players. Every player throws dice to score. The player who scores 10000 points first, wins. It is quite simple as a game with an elaborate scoring system. Players score according to the face value of the rolled dice and the scores calculated according to various combinations that may occur.
| Scorecard | |
| Dice Combination | Score |
| 1 | 100 |
| 5 | 50 |
| 1-1-1 | 1000 |
| 2-2-2 | 200 |
| 3-3-3 | 300 |
| 4-4-4 | 400 |
| 5-5-5 | 500 |
| 6-6-6 | 600 |
| Three Pairs | 1500 |
| Four of a Kind | 1000 |
| Five of a Kind | 2000 |
| Six of a Kind | 3000 |
| 1-2-3-4-5-6 | 1500 |
| Two Triplets | 2500 |
| Four of a Kind With a Pair | 3000 |
- 6 dice
- A pencil or a Pen
- Paper or Any Other Score Recording Medium
- A Shaker or Cup (Optional)
- At Least One Fellow Farkler
The Beginning
At the beginning of the game every player is handed six dice, which he must throw to score, in each round. Depending on face value of the six dice and the combination of values, you score points. Ask one of the players to maintain a scoreboard.
Scoring
There are many scoring combinations. You score a 100 with a 1, 50 with a 5, 200 with a triple (2-2-2) or 1500 with the full combination (1-2-3-4-5-6). If a player scores the last combination, he has ‘hot dice‘ and in this special circumstance, is allowed to throw again with all six dices.
Choose to Bank or Throw Again
Otherwise, after every throw, you need to select the best scoring combination and keep the associated dice aside and choose to throw the low scoring dice again.
Getting Farkled
If the subsequent throw of the remaining dice doesn’t score anything, you are farkled and lose all the points for the round. Ergo, you need to decide whether to bank the score and wait for the next round or continue throwing at the risk of getting farkled. You cannot combine scoring combinations from different throws in a round. The player can keep throwing till he is ‘farkled’ or bank the score and hand over the dice to the next player. The scores corresponding to most combinations are presented in the table above.
Note: If you keep rolling dice and score uptil the last die or dice, you can roll all six dice again, in the same round.
First to Make 10,000 Wins
The second player then follows suit and throws the dice to score. Turns may be taken in clockwise or anticlockwise fashion. The dice keep getting passed after every player has been farkled or has banked out, till the last player, to conclude the round. Scores for every round are noted and the first to score 10,000 points or more wins. Provided, none of the other players manage to go past his score in a single round play after him. If he scores a 10000+ score and another player surpasses his score in the very next round, the game is still on. It only concludes when nobody is able to surpass the highest score in the round after the winning player has reached it.
Play Example
Here is an illustrative example, which will make the game play clear.
- Suppose a player rolls the following combination: 3-5-5-3-2-3.
- She scores 300 for the triples 3s and a 100 for the two 5s. She chooses to remove the triplet and bank their score while continuing with the two 5s for the next round. So at the beginning of the next throw, the three scoring dice are removed and the player will roll the three remaining dice, with a score of 300.
- Suppose, in the next throw, the player is lucky to score a 5-5-5. For this combination, she scores another 500 points and gets to throw all six dice again, as she scored on all of them, without farkling. At any point, she can choose to bank the points and pass the dice to the next player.
- Instead she decides to try her luck further and rolls the dice for the third time. But this time she scores a 2-4-4-3-2-6, which has no scoring combinations! That is, she is farkled and loses all the points scored on the previous rolls!
To Sum Up
The game is very easy to follow, once you start playing, though the rules may seem a bit complex right now. Just roll the dice, read the dice combinations, calculate and note your score and keep rolling till you can, while avoiding getting farkled, at all costs.
Here is a printable scoring sheet, that is an essential addition to your Farkle preparation.
* Click on the image to get your copies printed.
