Farkle Variations and House Rules
Ask three families how they play Farkle and you may get three different answers. The game spread from kitchen tables and church halls rather than from one printed rulebook, so the scoring and the extras vary a great deal. None of them is wrong. This page explains the most common differences, which ones you can switch on in our online Farkle game, and how each one changes the way the game plays.
The Entry Minimum ("Getting on the Board")
Most families make you score a minimum in a single turn before your first bank. Our game uses 500, and Settings also offers no minimum, 350 and 1,000.
- No minimum is friendliest for children and new players; everyone starts scoring at once.
- 350 or 500 are the usual choices: the opening turns get a little tense, but not for long.
- 1,000 makes the start of the game a real hurdle. Some players spend several turns trying to get on the board, which can be exciting or frustrating depending on the table.
Online: Settings → House rules → Getting on the board. The Bank button stays grey until you have enough, and the game tells you how much you have so far.
The Winning Score
10,000 is by far the most common target and takes roughly 20 to 30 minutes for two players. A shorter game to 5,000 is good when time is short or the grandchildren are restless. Some groups play to 5,000 with a lower entry minimum to keep things moving.
Almost everyone gives the other players a last turn once someone reaches the target, as our game does. A few families instead end the game the moment someone gets there, which rewards whoever goes first; we don't recommend it.
Four, Five and Six of a Kind
There are two popular ways to score more than three dice of the same number:
| Dice | Fixed scores (our standard) | Doubling |
|---|---|---|
| Three 3s | 300 | 300 |
| Four 3s | 1,000 | 600 |
| Five 3s | 2,000 | 1,200 |
| Six 3s | 3,000 | 2,400 |
| Four 1s | 1,100 (three 1s plus a 1) | 2,000 |
| Six 1s | 3,000 | 8,000 |
With fixed scores, four of a kind is worth the same whatever the number, so four 2s are a lovely surprise. With doubling, every extra die doubles the three-of-a-kind value, so high numbers and especially 1s become huge, and low numbers are worth less. Some families also score four of a kind as exactly twice three of a kind and stop there. Whichever you use, our game always counts your dice the way that scores the most, so it never matters which order you notice them in.
Online: Settings → House rules → Four, five and six of a kind.
The Three-Farkles Penalty
In this popular house rule, a player who farkles three turns in a row loses 1,000 points from their score, and the count starts again. It punishes reckless play and makes long dry spells more painful. Scores can go below zero with this rule; some families stop at zero instead.
Banking clears the count. Our score board shows how many farkles in a row each player has, so nobody is caught by surprise.
Online: Settings → House rules → "Three farkles in a row cost 1,000 points". The Hard computer player banks more carefully when it has two farkles in a row.
Other Scoring Differences
These are not in our game, but you will meet them at other tables:
- Straights: some play 1-6 as 1,000, others as 2,500 or even 3,000. A few also count a short straight of five dice (1-5 or 2-6) for 500 or 750.
- Three pairs: anything from 500 to 1,500. Some tables do not count four of a kind plus a pair as three pairs.
- Two triplets: often 2,500, but some simply add the two triples together.
- Four of a kind plus a pair: scored as 1,500 at some tables.
- A farkle with all six dice: some families award 500 for rolling six dice with nothing in them, as a consolation prize.
- Three 1s are 1,000 almost everywhere, but a few old score sheets list them as 300 like any other number.
Different Ways to Play a Turn
- Piggybacking: the next player may choose to take over your leftover dice and turn total after you bank, rolling on from there. It adds a lot of temptation.
- Minimum to bank every turn: instead of an entry minimum, some families require 300 or more on every bank.
- Exact finish: rarely, players must land on exactly 10,000; going over costs the turn.
Which Rules Should You Use?
For a first game, keep the standard settings: 500 to get on the board, 10,000 to win, fixed scores for four of a kind, and no penalty. Once everyone is comfortable, try the three-farkles penalty for a little more drama, or play to 5,000 when you only have a few minutes. Whatever you choose, the heart of Farkle stays the same: roll, set aside, and know when to stop. The complete standard rules are on the rules page, and the strategy guide explains how the odds change your choices. For another relaxed family dice game with house rules of its own, try Yacht Dice.