If you Google Farkle’s history, you’ll find numerous theories about the origin of the game, all significantly different. But one thing we know for sure:

Farkle is older than dirt. First it was Farkle, then the dirt.

Why do you suppose it has been around for so long? Probably because it’s fun. Farkle has the perfect blend of luck and skill to have amassed wide 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 a single 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 games of Farkle, luck alone dictates that you will win about 3 games, as will 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 3’s are worth 300 points.
· Three 4’s are worth 400 points.
· Three 5’s are worth 500 points.
· Three 6’s 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 should do it.

Example #1: You roll 5-5-5-2-3-4

The three 5’s are worth 500 points. So you have enough to put yourself “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 ladder that is worth 1500 points, so you can stop and meet the “on board” requirement. But since you can roll all 6 dice again, you should.

Now that you’ve met the “on board” requirement, we can talk about the rest of the game.

2. If, after any turn, you find 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 follow 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’ll lose the 2500 points for my Triplet. Oh God, I don’t think I’d be able to live if that happened. It would be devastating. It would put 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 game of Farkle, is “should I stop now or keep shooting?”

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 points total) 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 you have one solo (worth 100 points) and two fives (worth 100 points combined). So you could save those three dice and roll the other three. But you would be making a mistake. The rules say that 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 and not the two fives. So you would roll five dice.

5. When an opponent exceeds 8,000 points, you should start thinking about playing a little more aggressively. 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 off the gloves. Upload those totals in rule 3 above. Don’t stop at 400 points when you have 2 dice to roll. Keep throwing!

When my opponent is 1,000 points away from winning the game, and I’m well under 5,000 points, I don’t stop shooting until I’m over 2,000. Every once in a while, I get that big throw that gets me back in the game.

Look at it this way, although it may seem dangerous to continue rolling when you have 700 or 800 points, especially if you are only rolling 2 dice, the stop option is not going to do you any good! Adding 700 or 800 points to a lousy 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 spins.

So stop worrying about it and roll those dice! Throw them fast and furiously. Throw them away like there’s no tomorrow. Throw them away like a drunken sailor.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this strategy will not guarantee victory in any particular game. But he 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 “Queen Farkle” (or “King”, as the case may be).