Farkle
A folk dice game with many names and scoring variations.
Farkle (or Farkel) is a folk dice game for two or more players, with many variations in scoring and play. It is part of a larger family of games known by names like Dix Mille, Ten Thousand, Cosmic Wimpout, Chicago, Greed, Hot Dice, Volle Lotte, Squelch, Zilch, and Zonk. Since 1996, a commercial version has been sold as Pocket Farkel by Legendary Games Inc.
The game likely reached North America on French ships in the 1600s and has been handed down through families ever since. One folk story claims it originated in Iceland with an English nobleman named Sir Albert Farkle in the 1300s or 1400s, but this is not considered credible. Another suggests it began in Texas, where farkleberries grow and could have been used as dice, though the name may simply have been picked up as the game passed through the region. No historical evidence supports claims of Farkle equipment or instructions dating to the 1700s at Fort Chartres, Illinois.
Play proceeds in turns, with each player throwing six dice (or five in some versions). After each throw, the player must set aside at least one scoring die. They may then either bank their accumulated points and end their turn, or continue rolling the remaining dice. If all six dice score, the player has "hot dice" and may roll all six again, adding to their score with no limit on consecutive hot dice rolls. If a throw produces no scoring dice, the player has "farkled" and loses all points for that turn. The turn then passes to the next player. Once a player reaches or exceeds a target total (commonly 10,000), each other player gets one final turn to try to beat that score.
Standard scoring is based on single dice and combinations. For example, a roll of 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, and 5 offers several options: score the three 3s as 300 and roll the remaining three dice; score the single 1 as 100 and roll five dice; score the single 5 as 50 and roll five dice; score all three combinations for 450 and roll the last die; or bank the 450 points. Scoring combinations must be achieved in a single throw—setting aside two 5s and then rolling a third 5 does not create a triplet, only three singles worth 150.
Because Farkle is a folk game, variant rules are common. In the commercial Pocket Farkel, three 1s score 300 instead of the more common 1,000.
- Alternate names
- Dix Mille, Ten Thousand, Cosmic Wimpout, Chicago, Greed, Hot Dice, Volle Lotte, Squelch, Zilch, Zonk
- Equipment
- Six dice (five in some variations), paper, and a pencil or pen
- Number of players
- Two or more
- Winning score
- Typically 10,000 points, though this number varies
- First commercial release
- 1996 (Pocket Farkel by Legendary Games Inc.)
Reader's Guide
Farkle is a folk game with no single authoritative ruleset, leading to a wide variety of scoring and play variations. The base scoring rules listed in Playing Grandma's Games by Arnold serve as a common reference. Standard scoring includes single ones (100 points), single fives (50 points), and three-of-a-kind (value of the die times 100, except three ones which are 1000 points). Variations include scoring three pairs, straights, full houses, and four, five, or six of a kind using adding, doubling, or set value methods. Play variations may require a minimum opening score, allow stealing points from a farkled player, or incorporate penalties for repeated farkles. The game's flexibility has allowed it to persist as a family tradition for centuries, and a simplified version is used in AP Statistics education to teach expected values. An optimal strategy for winning under one set of rules has been determined.
Did You Know?
- The game is believed to have arrived in North America on French sailing ships in the 1600s.
- Equipment and instructions to play Farkle dating to the 1700s have been found at Fort Chartres, Illinois.
- A version has been marketed commercially since 1996 under the brand name Pocket Farkel by Legendary Games Inc.
- A simplified version of Farkle, in which only single ones and fives score points, is used in AP Statistics education.
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