A Beginner’s Guide to the Game Farkle

Nurturnup

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posted on 10 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Farkle is a fun and easy game that anyone can play. All you need is 6 dice, a pen and paper, and a group of friends or family members to get started. We’ll walk you through the rules of Farkle step-by-step and even tell you all about some fun twists you can add to this timeless game. Get your dice ready and prepare to become a Farkle pro.

Things You Should Know

Throw all 6 dice and pull out dice that are worth points (1, 5, three-of-a-kind, etc.).
Keep rolling until you “farkle” (run out of dice and lose your score) or decide to stop and keep your score.
Take turns until someone reaches 10,000 points. Give everyone 1 additional turn to try and beat the high score. Whoever ends up with the highest score wins.

Standard Rules

Roll the dice to see who will start the game. As long as you have at least 2 people, there’s no limit to how many people can play a game of Farkle. Have each person roll 1 die. Whoever rolls the highest number will start the game, and players will take turns going clockwise from there. If multiple people roll the same number, have them roll again until just 1 person is left holding the highest number.

Designate one person to be the scorekeeper. The scorekeeper plays a very important role and will be in charge of writing down and calculating all of the other players’ scores as the game goes on. That being said, make sure that everyone knows the scoring rules so that you all can help the scorekeeper keep track. The point system is as follows: Single 1 = 100 points Single 5 = 50 points Three 1s = 300 points Three 2s = 200 points Three 3s = 300 points Three 4s = 400 points Three 5s = 500 points Three 6s = 600 points Four of any number = 1,000 points Five of any number = 2,000 points Six of any number = 3,000 points 1-6 straight = 1,500 points (i.e., Rolling 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 in a single throw) Three pairs = 1,500 points (e.g., Two 1s, two 5s, and two 6s) Four of any number with a pair = 1,500 points (e.g., Four 2s and two 1s) Two triplets = 2,500 points (e.g., Three 3s and three 4s)

Roll 500 points in one turn to officially enter the game. On your first turn, you must get at least 500 points to officially be in the game. When it’s your turn, roll all 6 dice at the same time. Remove at least 1 die that is worth points (called a “point die”) and throw the remaining dice again. If you don’t throw any point dice, your turn is over, and you “farkle.” If you “farkle” before reaching 500 points, your score stays 0, and you’ll try again on your next turn. You don’t have to set aside all of the point dice right away. In some cases, it’s actually more strategic to rethrow some of the point dice to get a higher score. For example, let’s say you roll 2 point dice—a 1 and a 5. In this case, it might be strategic to keep the 1 aside and place the 5 back with the rest of the non-point dice and roll again. You now have a better chance at rolling a three-of-a-kind (or other combination) and increasing your score.

Keep rolling if you throw “hot dice.” If all 6 dice become point dice, you must throw all 6 dice again and continue playing. This is called “hot dice.” There’s no limit to the number of hot dice you can throw, so technically, your turn can go on for a very long time if you’re lucky. This is the best way to rack up points. However, if you “farkle,” you lose all of your points for that turn. If all 6 dice are point dice on your first roll, you immediately get to throw all of them again. Taking out point dice one by one until all 6 have turned into point dice is also a form of hot dice. Take this sample roll as an example: Roll 1: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6You set aside the two 1s and have 4 dice remaining. Roll 2: 1, 4, 5 , 6You set aside the single 1 and have 3 dice remaining. Roll 3: 5, 5, 5Three 5s is worth 500 points. All of your dice have become point dice, so now you must throw all 6 “hot dice” again.

Keep rolling the dice until you decide to stop or “farkle.” This is where the excitement really amps up. You have the option to play it safe and stop after collecting a few points, or risk it all by continuing to throw. Just remember that if you “farkle,” you lose all of your points for that turn and the game moves on to the next player. Carefully consider strategy in deciding whether to roll or stop. For example, if you throw 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, any of the following plays are possible: Score three 3s as 300 points and then roll the remaining three dice. Score the single 1 as 100 points and then roll the remaining five dice. Score the single 5 as 50 points and then roll the remaining five dice. Score three 3s, the single 1, and the single 5 for a total of 450 points, and then roll the remaining die. Score three 3s, the single 1, and the single 5 for a total of 450 points. Stop rolling and keep your 450 points. In the cases where you decide to continue rolling, you risk “farkling” and losing all of your points. However, there’s also a chance you roll “hot dice” and get to keep playing.

Keep track of everyone’s scores as you play. After each person’s turn is over, write down the points they earned for that turn. Then, add all of their points together to get their total score.

Play until someone reaches 10,000 points. The game ends when someone passes 10,000 points. After their turn is over, everyone else gets 1 turn to try and beat the winner’s score. Whoever ends up with the highest score is the winner. The person who passes 10,000 points first sets the end point goal for the other players. The other players must then try and beat that goal. For example, let’s say person A passed 10,000 points on their last turn and ended with a total score of 10,300. Now, the rest of the players get one more turn to try and get more than 10,300 points. If person B ended up with a total score of 10,400 after this last additional turn, they are the winner of the game.

Alternative Rules

Divide players into teams before playing. One alternative way to play Farkle is to play in teams or pairs instead of individually. If you play like this, the score you earn during each turn goes toward your team’s cumulative score.

Play with 5 dice instead of 6. This eliminates some possible combinations, such as rolling 3 pairs. But it also raises the odds of getting certain combinations, such as a straight (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). This is also good if you just want to manage less dice.

Make the threshold for the starting play higher or lower than 500. In terms of standard Farkle rules, you need to get at least 500 points to officially get into the game and start earning points. However, you and the other players have the option to modify this threshold however you want. If you want a bit of an easier game, lower the threshold to 350 or 400. If you want a challenge, raise it all the way to 1,000.

Come up with new scoring variations. There are lots of ways to change the point values associated with certain numbers and combinations. Keep the standard scoring system and add on new rules, or completely scrap the original system and come up with your own. The beauty of Farkle is its adaptability. Some common scoring variations include: Straight in one roll (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) = 2000 or 3000 points or no points at all Three pairs (e.g., 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 5) = 500, 600, 750, or 1,000 points Full house (three-of-a-kind + 1 pair) = the three-of-a-kind value + 250 points For example, the roll 3, 3, 3, 2, 2 is worth 550 points (300 + 250) Four-of-a-kind = double the three-of-a-kind value or quadruple the three-of-a-kind value For example, rolling four 4s can be counted as 800 points (400 x 2) or 1,600 points (400 x 4). Five-of-a-kind = triple the three-of-a-kind value or six times the three-of-a-kind value For example, throwing five 5s can be scored as 1,500 points (500 x 3) or 3,000 points (500 x 6). Six-of-a-kind = quadruple the three-of-a-kind value or eight times the three-of-a-kind value Therefore, rolling six 6s would be 2,400 points (600 x 4) or 4,800 points (600 x 8). Six 1s = 5000 points, or the player is instantly declared the winner If a player “farkles” 3 turns in a row, they lose 500 or 1,000 points.

Play with the piggybacking (high-stakes) rule. Allow players to begin their turn by rolling the dice remaining from the previous player's roll (the dice not set aside for scoring). If the player scores with any of these leftover dice on the first roll, they get 1,000 points in addition to any other points they win.

Set the winning score higher or lower than 10,000. If you’re on a time crunch, then make the goal score something like 5,000 or 7,500. On the other hand, if you have lots of time and just don’t want the game to end, set the score to 15,000 or 20,000.