How to Play Farkle

There’s no shame in enjoying a low tech game every now and then. And it doesn’t get more low tech than Farkle. Farkle is a game of dice that requires nothing but six dice and a pad of paper. Here’s how to play.

Object of the Game

The object of the game is to be the first to score 10,000 points. Players take turns rolling the dice and racking up points. In order to “get on the board,” you have to roll a hand worth at least 1,000 points.

How to Score in Farkle

Players roll one at a time. Begin by rolling the dice. For every 1 you get, you get 100 to your scoring hand. For every 5 you get, add 50. Triple 1’s equals 1,000 points. A triple of any other number gives you the face value times 100. For example, if you get three 3s, you would score 300. If you got three six’s, you would get 600.

Each time you roll, you must have a scoring die (1 or 5) or a set of 3. If you do not, then you bust and you do not score any points for the hand. If you score, you can set aside one or more of your scoring dice and roll the remaining dice again to rack up more points. But be careful! If you do not score on your next roll, you bust. If you score on all of your dice, you must roll ALL of the dice again. Any scoring dice you get adds to your existing hand. But if you bust, you lose everything.

Gameplay proceeds around the table until one player reaches 10,000. Once that player reaches 10,000 the other players get one more hand in order to try to beat them. If no one does, the first player to reach 10,000 wins.

Other Rules

If you get a straight (i.e. all numbers in a row, suc has 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) it is worth 1,000 points.

Rules for dice that fall off the table are up to the house. You can either play it based on what it lands on on the floor, or you can require a re-roll.

Three pairs of dice is worth 750, no matter what the face values are.

For faster game play, give each player their own dice and all roll at the same time. However, keep an eye on your neighbor to ensure that he or she is being honest!

Think you have what it takes? Try playing Farkle online. Online Farkle will have similar or the same rules as playing Farkle at home, but often goes much quicker thanks to automatic scoring.