Farkle Dice Game Rules

Farkle is a dice game for 2-8 players. A game typically takes 20-45 minutes, and the recommended age is 8+.

Rules for Farkle: Roll six dice, set scoring dice aside and stop before a farkle wipes out your turn. Farkle is also known as Zilch, Greed, Zonk, Hot Dice or Squelch.

Farkle and Ten Thousand are one game in two editions. This page uses the Farkle scoring table. For the Nordic rules and a target of 10,000, see the other page.

2-8 players
20-45 minutes
8+ years
6 dice

Setup

Farkle is played with six dice, paper and a pencil. The game works for 2 to 8 players, and the turn passes clockwise around the table. Agree on a target score before you begin. The classic goal is 10,000 points.

How to play

On your turn you roll all six dice. After each roll you must set aside at least one die or combination that scores. Then you choose: stop and write down the points you have collected this turn, or roll the remaining dice again to build a bigger total.

If a roll gives you no scoring dice at all, you have rolled a farkle. Everything you collected this turn is lost, and the dice pass to the next player. Points written down in earlier turns are always safe.

If you manage to make all six dice score, you have hot dice. Pick up all six and keep rolling in the same turn.

Illustration for Farkle: How to play

Scoring

The standard Farkle table is simple:

  • Single 1: 100 points
  • Single 5: 50 points
  • Three of a kind: the die value times 100, so three 4s score 400 points
  • Three 1s: 1000 points

A combination must appear within a single roll. You cannot build three of a kind across several rolls. Dice showing 2, 3, 4 or 6 score nothing on their own; they only count as part of three of a kind.

Winning

The first player to reach the target score triggers the last round: everyone else gets one final turn to try to beat that total. When the round is over, the player with the highest score wins.

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