What Is Farkle?

Farkle is a dice game with medieval origins that is now more commonly known as 10,000. The object of the game is to be the first to score 10,000 points. It takes two or more people, a score pad, and six dice to play Farkle. Farkle is easy to teach and to learn and makes a great party game.

The History of Farkle

The first Farkle game was played by Sir Albert Farkle over 700 years ago in Iceland. This is how the dice game got its strange name. Farkle is also referred to in a festival directory of Elizabethan times.

Before Playing

Farkle requires at least two players. However, the more the merrier. Before play can begin, the first player must be chosen. This is done by each player tossing one die. The player with the highest number goes first. The dice are then passed clockwise after each turn. A player then needs to roll 500 points to be in the game.

Scoring and Farkle

The pips on the dice are represented in the following manner:

One Pip = 100 points
Five Pips= 50 points
Three dice with one pip = 1000 points
Three dice with two pips = 200 points
Three dice with three pips = 300 points
Three dice with four pips = 400 points
Three dice with five pips = 500 points
Three dice with six pips = 600 points
One of each die = 500 points (also called a straight)
Three pairs in one toss = 1000 points

Playing the Game

If the player throws all six dice and lands two ones, a five, a two, a six, and another six, the player can hold the two ones and the five. This represents 250 points towards the ten thousand. The player can then choose to roll the remaining three dice in hopes of scoring more points. There is no limit on how many times the player can re-roll as long as each toss of the dice scores points. However, if the player should toss the dice and score no points, that player loses all of the points won in that round. If a toss scores no points, it is called a "Farkle."

Winning

The game is won once a player scores 10,000 points. The other players can choose to keep rolling the dice to win second place. If there is a tie, the game will continue until someone Farkles. At this point, the highest scoring player wins.

Resources

• Official Farkle Rules