Roll six dice, set aside the ones that score, then choose: bank your points, or roll again and risk losing them.
Farkle is a game of nerve. On your turn you roll six dice, put aside the ones that score points, and then choose: stop and keep your points, or roll the rest and try for more.
The danger is a : a roll where nothing scores. Then you lose everything you collected that turn. The first player to reach 10,000 points wins.
You need six ordinary six-sided dice and a way to keep score, such as our free score sheet. Two to eight people can play; three to five is best.
Agree a target score before you start. 10,000 is the usual one; 5,000 makes a shorter game.
| Each 1 | 100 |
| Each 5 | 50 |
| Three of a kind: 1s | 1,000 |
| Three of a kind: 2s to 6s | 200 to 600 |
| Four of a kind | 1,000 |
| Five of a kind | 2,000 |
| Six of a kind | 3,000 |
| Straight, 1 to 6 | 1,500 |
| Three pairs | 1,500 |
Three of a kind in 2s to 6s is the number times 100: three 4s is 400. A lone 2, 3, 4 or 6 is worth nothing. The practice table scores only what is listed. Tables differ on the rest: the Patch Products boxed set scores three 1s as 300, four of a kind with a pair as 1,500 and two triplets as 2,500.
Everyone rolls one die. The highest number goes first, and play then moves to the left. Roll again to break a tie.
Here West rolls a 6 and starts.
Your move, six dice.
Pick up all six dice and roll them. Look for dice that score.
This roll is 1, 5, 2, 2, 3, 6. The 1 is worth 100 and the 5 is worth 50. The 2s do not score on their own, because it takes three of them.
Your move
You rolled 1, 5, 2, 2, 3, 6. Which dice do you set aside?
After every roll you must set aside at least one scoring die (or all that you like). You then roll only the dice that are left.
You keep just the 1 (100 points) and re-roll the other five. They land 3, 3, 3, 4, 6: three 3s, worth 300. You now have 400 points this turn.
After setting dice aside you choose. You can : stop, write the points down, and pass the dice. Or you can roll the remaining dice and try for more.
You are on 400 with two dice left. A roll of two dice often scores nothing, so you bank: 400 goes on your sheet.
If a roll has no scoring dice at all, that is a Farkle. You lose all the points from this turn, even if you had 2,000 collected, and the dice pass to the next player.
This roll is 2, 3, 4, 6, 4, 3. No 1s, no 5s, no three of a kind: Farkle, and the turn scores nothing.
Ouch. Zero.
If every one of your six dice has scored, you have . Pick all six up again and keep rolling, adding to the same turn. The points are not safe until you bank them: a Farkle on the next roll still loses the whole turn.
You set aside the 1 and 5. The other four land 5, 5, 1, 1, and all of them score. That is 450 points and hot dice: you roll all six again.
Roll them all again.
Write each banked turn on the score sheet and add it to your running total. A turn that ends in a Farkle scores 0.
Here after a few turns: Ana has 450, Ben 1,200 and Cy has had two Farkles in a row and is on 0.
When someone passes 10,000, every other player gets one final turn to beat their total. The highest score after that round wins.
Stopping at the target would be unfair to the players who had not yet had a turn this round, so the last turn evens it out.
Point at a dot to see why it matters
Roll six dice against Ana and set aside the scoring ones. Bank it or push your luck.
Be the first to reach the target score, usually 10,000. When someone gets there, all the others get one more turn, and the highest total after that wins.
A roll where none of the dice score. You lose all the points you collected on that turn and the dice pass to the next player.
When all six dice have scored you roll all six again and keep your points. Most players keep rolling, because the risk of a Farkle is small with six dice.
With six dice about 2 rolls in 100 are a Farkle. With four dice it is about 16 in 100, with three dice 28 in 100, with two dice 44 in 100, and with one die 2 in 3.
Not in the rules we use here, but many tables do: you may not bank until a single turn is worth at least 500 (some say 350 or 300). It stops players from creeping onto the board with tiny turns. Agree it before you start.
Five dice, three rolls, thirteen boxes to fill.
1 to 6 players · 40 min · 8+Three dice, six rounds, and a shout when you roll a Bunco.
4 to 24 players · 1 hr · 8+Pass chips left, right or to the middle. Last one holding chips wins.
3 to 10 players · 15 min · 6+
