If you google Farkle’s story, you’ll find numerous theories about the game’s origin, all significantly different. But one thing we know for sure:
Farkle is older than the earth. First it was Farkle, then dirt.
Why do you suppose it has been around for so long? Probably because it’s fun. Farkle has the perfect combination of luck and skill to have amassed a huge appeal among people all over the world and remained popular for hundreds of years. If you have never played Farkle, you should give it a try.
Many Farkle fans insist that luck is far more important in determining a winner than any skill involved. This is true in only one game. But as more games are played, skill becomes more significant and luck less significant in determining the overall winner. If you sit down with 3 friends and play 12 Farkle games, only luck dictates that you will win about 3 games, just like your friends. 3 times 4 equals 12.
However, if you use my winning strategy for Farkle (and assuming your friends don’t), you’re more likely to win 4 games instead of 3. No, it doesn’t mean you’ll win every game, but over time, you’ll emerge as the best Farkle player in your group. Your friends will start calling you “The Farkle Expert”, or “Mr. (or Mrs. or Miss) Farkle” or “The Farkle Guru”. Would he be cool or what?
My strategy assumes the following rules:
· 500 points are needed to be “on the board”.
· 10000 points are needed to win.
A five is worth 50 points.
· A one is worth 100 points.
· Three 1’s are worth 300 points.
· Three 2’s are worth 200 points.
· Three 3s are worth 300 points.
· Three 4s are worth 400 points.
Three 5’s are worth 500 points.
· Three 6s are worth 600 points.
· Any 4-of-a-kind is worth 1000 points.
Straight (1-2-3-4-5-6) is worth 1500 points.
Three Pair (2-2-3-3-4-4) is worth 1500 points.
· Any 5-of-a-kind is worth 2000 points.
Triplets (2-2-2-3-3-3) are worth 2500 points.
· Any 6-of-a-kind is worth 3000 points.
The strategy:
1. At the beginning of a game, when you are trying to get the required points to be “on the board”, stop rolling after you have the required points on the table, unless you can roll all 6 dice again. If you can roll all the dice again, that’s called “…and roll” and you must.
Example #1: You roll 5-5-5-2-3-4
The three 5’s are worth 500 points. So you have enough to put you “on the board”. So don’t roll the remaining 3 dice again. Just stop and take the 500 points.
Example #2: You roll 1-2-3-4-5-6
You have a straight that is worth 1500 points, so you can stop and meet the “on the board” requirement. But since you can roll all 6 dice again, you should.
Now that you’ve met the “on the board” requirement, we can talk about the rest of the game.
2. If, after any turn, you discover that all six dice are worth points so that you can roll all six dice again if you wish, you must roll the dice again. This rule is especially hard to stick to when you’ve just rolled triplets or some other high-scoring combination, and you’re thinking, ‘If I roll all six dice and get nothing (a Farkle, a goose egg, the big zero, the old ‘ bust-a-roo’), then I will lose the 2500 points for my Triplet. Oh God, I don’t think I could live if that happened. It would be devastating. It would blew a hole in my self-esteem the size of the Belgian Congo.”
No. It’s not that bad. You’ll pass (or “Farkle”) less than 10% of the time, which means more than 90% of the time you’ll get a few more points and improve your score.
3. So the big decision, the one you’ll have to make dozens of times in every Farkle game, is “should I stop now or keep pitching?”
The exact answer to this question is very complicated. But we can simplify it and put it in terms that everyone can handle. You only need two pieces of information: 1) how many dice am I considering rolling and 2) how many points would I have if I didn’t roll, that is, if I stopped now?
If you are thinking of throwing:
6 dice Do it! Do not worry about it.
5 dice Stop at 2000 points or more. Otherwise, go ahead and shoot.
4 dice Stop at 1000 points or more. Otherwise, go ahead and shoot.
3 dice Stop at 500 points or more. Otherwise, go ahead and shoot.
2 dice Stop at 400 points or more. Otherwise, go ahead and shoot.
1 die Stop at 300 points or more. Otherwise, go ahead and shoot.
4. Never have a 5 (which is worth 50 points) unless you have no other choice.
Example #1: You roll 5-5-2-3-3-4
You could keep the two fives (worth 100 total points) and roll the remaining 4 dice. But it is better to have only one of the five (which is worth 50 points) and roll the remaining 5 dice.
Example #2: You roll 1-5-5-2-3-3
Here’s a single (worth 100 points) and two fives (worth 100 points combined). So you could keep those three dice and roll the other three. But you would be making a mistake. The rules say you must have at least one die before you can continue your turn and roll again, so the correct strategy is to have the one die and not both fives. So you would roll five dice.
5. When an opponent exceeds 8000 points, you should start thinking about playing a little more aggressive. Especially if his total is 5000 or less. When the difference between his score and the leader becomes greater than the difference between the leader and winning the game, it’s time to take the gloves off. Upload those totals in rule 3 above. Don’t stop at 400 points when you have 2 dice to roll. Keep pitching!
When my opponent is 1000 points away from winning the game, and I’m well below 5000 points, I don’t stop shooting until I’m over 2000 points. Every once in a while, I get that big pitch that gets me back in the game.
Look at it this way, although it may seem dangerous to keep rolling when you have 700 or 800 points, especially if you’re only rolling 2 dice, the option of stopping isn’t going to do you any good! Adding 700 or 800 points to a pitiful score like 5000 isn’t going to change the outcome of the game… you’re still going to lose! The only thing that will save you now is some big 4-digit twists.
So stop worrying about that and roll those dice! Throw them fast and furiously. Throw them away like there’s no tomorrow. Throw them like a drunken sailor.
As I mentioned at the beginning, this strategy will not guarantee victory in any particular game. But it will make sure that you win more than your fair share in the games. Remember, your goal is to be known in your city as the “Farkle Queen” (or “King”, as the case may be).
