Farkle rules and scoring

• Scoring chart
• Taking a turn
• Winning
• Variants
• Score sheet

Roll six dice, set aside the ones that score, and choose: roll what's left to build the turn higher, or bank what you've got. Roll nothing that scores and you Farkle — the entire turn's points vanish. First past 10,000 doesn't end it: everyone else gets one last turn to catch you.

You need six dice, two or more players, and something to keep score with.

Farkle scoring chart

These are the values printed in the retail game. Combinations only count when they come up in a single roll — you can't build a three of a kind out of dice from two different rolls.

Dice	Points
Each 1	100
Each 5	50
Three of a kindThree 2s = 200, three 3s = 300, and so on up to three 6s = 600.	face × 100
Three 1sCommon variant: 300.	1,000
Four of a kind	1,000
Five of a kind	2,000
Six of a kind	3,000
Straight 123456	1,500
Three pairs 22  44  66	1,500
Four of a kind + a pair 4444  66	1,500
Two triplets 111  333	2,500
No scoring dice in a rollEverything built up this turn is lost.	Farkle

On their own, 2s, 3s, 4s and 6s are worth nothing — they only score as part of a combination.

Taking a turn

• Roll all six dice. Every roll, you must set aside at least one scoring die. If you can't, you've Farkled and lose everything you'd built up this turn.
• Dice you've set aside are locked for the turn — you can't re-roll them to improve a combination.
• After setting dice aside, either roll the rest or bank: stop and add the turn's points to your score. Points are only yours once you bank them.
• Hot dice: score with all six dice and you can pick them all back up and keep rolling the same turn. Everything you've built is still at risk — Farkle and it's all gone.

Winning

The first player to pass 10,000 doesn't win on the spot. Everyone else gets one more turn to beat them, and the highest total when that lap finishes takes the game — so a big last turn can steal it.

Common variants

Farkle is a folk game and printings genuinely disagree. Settle these before the first roll:

• Three 1s = 300 instead of 1,000 — the Pocket Farkel rule.
• Straight = 2,500 at some tables, rather than 1,500.
• Four, five and six of a kind double up — each extra die doubles the three-of-a-kind value — instead of the flat 1,000 / 2,000 / 3,000.
• Getting on the board: you must bank at least 500 in one turn before any of your points count.
• Three Farkles in a row costs you 1,000 points.

Quick answers

What does “Farkle” mean in the game?

A roll with no scoring dice in it. It ends your turn and wipes out every point you'd built up that turn, though your banked score is safe.

Can you re-roll dice you've already set aside?

No. Once a die is set aside it's locked until your turn ends — unless all six score, which gives you hot dice and a fresh roll of all six.

Do you have to keep every scoring die?

No — you only have to keep at least one. Leaving a lone 5 in the roll gives you more dice to throw next time.