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Players: 2+ (ages 8+)
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Some of my favorite memories growing up consist of time spent playing games with my siblings and my great-aunt. One of our favorites was Farkle. It was so easy for us kids to grasp, and it was the one that we always begged to play. We spent many evenings at the kitchen table, laughing and cheering—especially as my sister blew on those dice and jokingly wished for a new pair of shoes.
Farkle is a basic dice-rolling and points-based game. Players shake the collection of six dice and roll them on each turn. You set aside any dice that are worth points and can then choose to continue rolling the remainder of them. If you’re able to set aside all six dice within a turn, you can pick them all up and roll again, continuing in the hopes of running up your total points. However, if at any time you roll and cannot set aside any more dice after that roll, then I’m afraid to say that you’ve “farkled.” You forfeit all of the points you’ve rolled for that round, and your turn ends. In the end, the object of the game is to be the player with the highest score over 10,000 points.
One of the interesting things about this game is the way in which it begins. In order for you to start counting your points on the score pad (we called it “getting on the board” when we were kids), you must first roll 500 points in a turn. Collecting a required number of points on one turn is fun and challenging, because you can be as reckless as you want with the dice. You must keep rolling and risk it all in hopes of eventually winning the game. However, I remember needing 1,000 points to get on the board when we used to play; 500 just seems too easy to me. So I’d really like to see an option for the 1,000 starter points in the rules—at least for those who are up to the challenge.
Once you’re on the board, each round of play can get pretty intense. You have the option to either stop and keep the points you’ve rolled in that round or risk the points you’ve accumulated and continue for the chance at more, potentially losing all the points from that round. While getting 10,000 points to win might sound daunting, it’s really not. With dice worth anywhere from 50-3,000 points, depending on the combinations you roll, the 10,000 points will add up quickly.
Even though the game’s instructions say it’s recommended for ages eight and up, I feel that children as young as age five could grasp the concept with just a little extra guidance. Farkle is easily played, but it’s thoroughly entertaining for hours of recreation. It’s a great standard game for family game nights—and it will help you create your own lasting memories of quality family time.
