Farkle rules

Farkle is a push-your-luck dice game played with six dice. On your turn you roll, set aside dice that score, and then choose: bank the points you have built up, or roll the remaining dice to try for more. If a roll contains nothing that scores, you farkle and lose every point from that turn. The first player to reach 10,000 points wins.

You need six ordinary dice and a way to keep score. Two or more players take turns in order, and the game also works solo as a score challenge. Each turn follows the same four steps.

1. 1
   Roll all six dice. Every turn starts with a roll of all six dice. Your turn total starts at zero.
2. 2
   Set aside at least one scoring die. Pick out dice that score according to the chart below and put them aside. You must keep at least one scoring die or combination after every roll, but you don’t have to keep all of them. Combinations only count when all of their dice come up in the same roll.
3. 3
   Roll again or bank. The dice you set aside are added to your turn total. Now either bank, which adds the turn total to your score and ends your turn, or roll the dice you have left to build the total higher.
4. 4
   Don’t farkle. If a roll has no scoring dice at all, you have farkled. Your turn ends at once and the points you built up during that turn are lost. Points banked on earlier turns are always safe.

This is the exact scoring used in our Farkle game. Scoring varies a lot from one table to the next, so when you play in person, agree on a chart before the first roll.

When all six dice have been set aside as scoring dice, you have hot dice. Pick up all six and keep rolling; your turn total carries over. It can happen more than once in a turn.

You can get hot dice in a single roll where every die scores, such as three pairs, a straight, two triplets or 4-4-4-1-1-5 (400 + 200 + 50 = 650). You can also get there step by step, for example by rolling a 1 or a 5 with your last remaining die.

You are allowed to bank instead, but a fresh roll of six dice is the safest roll in the game, so rolling on is usually right. Some groups make the extra roll mandatory; in our game the choice is yours.

A farkle is any roll with no scoring dice: no 1s, no 5s, no three of a kind and none of the six-dice combinations. The fewer dice you roll, the more likely it gets. These are the exact chances of farkling with each number of dice under our scoring:

A single die misses two times out of three, while six dice farkle only about once in 43 rolls. The Farkle strategy guide turns these numbers into exact banking points.

1-1-1-5-3-4

Three 1s and a 5: 1,050 points. Set four dice aside and roll the last two, or keep just the three 1s (1,000) and roll three.

5-5-5-5-2-6

Four 5s: 2 × 500 = 1,000 points. The 2 and 6 score nothing.

3-3-3-1-5-6

Three 3s, a 1 and a 5: 300 + 100 + 50 = 450 points, with one die left to roll.

2-2-4-4-6-6

Three pairs: 1,500 points, and all six dice scored, so you have hot dice.

3-3-3-6-6-6

Two triplets: 2,500 points (not 300 + 600), plus hot dice.

2-3-4-4-6-6

Only two pairs, no 1s or 5s, no three of a kind. That is a farkle.

In our game the target is 10,000 points. There is no minimum score to get on the board, so you can bank any amount from your very first turn, and there is no penalty for repeated farkles. A farkle only wipes out the turn in progress. Because you play alone, the real contest is the turn count: reach 10,000 in fewer turns than your personal best.

With several players, the usual ending works like this: once someone banks enough to reach 10,000, every other player gets one last turn to beat that score. The highest total after that final round wins.

How many points do you need to win Farkle?

Our game is played to 10,000 points, which is the most common target. Some groups play to 5,000 for a shorter game.

Is there a minimum score to get on the board?

Not in our game. You can bank any score, starting with your first turn. Many home games require 500 points (sometimes 1,000) in a single turn before a player can bank for the first time.

Do three pairs score in Farkle?

Yes. Any three pairs rolled together with all six dice score 1,500, including pairs of 1s or 5s. Four of a kind plus a pair does not count as three pairs in our game.

Do 2s, 3s, 4s and 6s score on their own?

No. Those numbers only score as three of a kind or better, or as part of a straight, three pairs or two triplets. Single 1s and single 5s are the only dice that score alone.

What happens if you farkle three times in a row?

Nothing extra in our game: each farkle only costs that turn. A popular house rule takes 1,000 points off your score after three farkles in a row.

Can you add dice from a new roll to a combination you already set aside?

No. Every combination has to appear in a single roll. If you kept two 5s and then roll a third 5, it scores 50 on its own, not 500 as three of a kind.

Do you have to keep every scoring die?

No. You must keep at least one scoring die or combination after each roll, but you can leave the rest in play and reroll them. Keeping fewer dice is often the stronger move.