The roller of the highest number goes first. The game starts with each player rolling 1 die. It’s still possible to Farkle out and lose them all, so be careful! The odds of Farkling on a 6-dice roll are slim, so it’s generally worth it. However, those points have not yet been banked. They get to roll all 6 dice again and continue earning points for the play. Hot Dice: If aplayer is able to score points on all six dice, they are said to have Hot Dice. However, if you’ve Farkled twice in a row, it’s better to stop before 500 points than risk Farkling out again, incurring a loss of 1,000 points! Players will generally keep rolling until they score 500, or Farkle out. If the player scores anything less than 500, the points cannot be banked. Opening Score: In order to start banking any score, a player must first accumulate an opening score of 500+ points in a single play. Note: Many documents state that a 3 of a Kind in 1s is worth 1,000 points, but I have an official Farkle game (in hand as I type this), and I can assure you, the official rules of this game (Farkle The Classic Dice-Rolling, Risk-Taking Game, distributed by Patch Games Inc.), states “1 1 1 = 300 pts.” Three FARKLEs in a row = Lose 1,000 points.Scoring in FarkleĬertain dice or combinations of dice are worth points. However, you cannot combine dice from two separate rolls to create a scoring combination. In general, you’re looking to roll a 1 or 5, any 3 of a kind or better, three pairs, or a straight of 1 thru 6. Any turn that ends without taking score is called a “Farkle”. If you choose to roll again, your score must increase on that roll, or you lose all current points and your turn is over. You can either stop rolling and take that score, or you can keep the die/dice that scored and roll the rest of the dice again. So long as you can claim score of any amount, you have two options. If there’s no score to be taken, your turn is over. Rolling the DiceĮach time you roll the dice, you must roll a scoreable combination of some sort. Like most dice games, the object is to achieve the highest score. Just know that the more players you have the slower the game gets, which can create lulls of boredom for those in waiting. You can also use pen and plain paper, but the official score sheets provide a basic reference for scoring that serves at a great reminder for beginners.įarkle is a game for 2 or more players. To play Farkle, you’ll either need to purchase a basic set of the game, or gather 6 dice and draw out or print out some basic Farkle score sheets. What I can tell you is that if you don’t buy the correct game described here (Farkle, not Farkel), the rules won’t match up! How to Play Farkle Which is the true original? There’s some debate to that question too, which we attempt to answer in this exploration of Farkle’s origins. FARKLE is touted as “ the classic” game, while FARKEL calls itself “ the original” game. Both use verbiage that leads consumers to believe they are the real, original game. Note that there are two ‘ official‘ versions sold in North America, FARKLE and FARKEL.