¶ Farkle
Farkle is a push-your-luck dice game for 2 to 4 players, run by the Dice Master. Each player puts up the same stake, then takes turns rolling six dice, setting aside scoring dice and deciding whether to risk another roll or bank the points. The first player to reach the target score starts the final round, and the highest score at the end takes the pot.
The Dice Master stands in the street outside the Cat’s Lair tavern in north-west Britain.
¶ How to start
- Walk up to the Dice Master and choose Play Farkle from the dialog. You can also say the Dice Master’s name followed by farkle.
- To read the rules first, choose Farkle rules, or say the Dice Master’s name followed by farkle rules. You can also open them from the book icon in the Farkle window.
- The Farkle window lists every game at this table. You can:
- Open a game: pick a stake, pick 2, 3 or 4 seats, then press Open game.
- Join a game: press Join on an open game. You put up the same stake as everyone else at that game.
- Watch a game: press Watch on a game in progress to follow along.
A game starts as soon as every seat is filled. If it isn’t full, it starts automatically a short while after the second player joins (the window counts it down), or any seated player can press Start now once two or more players are seated. Seat order is picked at random when the game starts.
A few limits:
- You can only be in one Farkle game at a time, at any table.
- You must stay near the Dice Master to open, join or play, and you can’t stake gold while dead or in combat.
- Each Dice Master runs up to 3 games at once.
¶ How to play
On your turn:
- You roll six dice. After a moment the dice are revealed.
- Click the scoring dice you want to keep. Every die you keep must be part of a scoring combination (see the table below). Keep Best picks the highest-scoring dice for you.
- Then choose:
- Roll Again: your kept dice are set aside, their points go into your turn pool, and you roll the remaining dice.
- Bank: your turn pool plus your current selection is added to your score, and your turn ends. The button shows how much you would bank.
- FARKLE! If a roll has no scoring dice at all, you lose every point from that turn and the turn passes to the next player.
- HOT DICE! If you keep every remaining die as scorers and press Roll Again, all six dice have been set aside: you keep your turn pool and roll all six dice again.
You must keep at least one scoring die before you can roll again or bank. You also need at least 300 points in a turn to bank.
¶ Scoring
| Dice | Points |
|---|---|
| Single 1 | 100 |
| Single 5 | 50 |
| Three 1s | 1,000 |
| Three 2s | 200 |
| Three 3s | 300 |
| Three 4s | 400 |
| Three 5s | 500 |
| Three 6s | 600 |
| Straight 1-2-3-4-5-6 (all six dice) | 1,500 |
| Three pairs (all six dice) | 1,500 |
- Four, five or six of a kind score 2x, 4x and 8x the three of a kind. For example, four 4s score 800 and five 4s score 1,600.
- Three pairs must be three different pairs. Four of a kind plus a pair does not count as three pairs.
- Single 2s, 3s, 4s and 6s score nothing on their own.
¶ Ending the game
- The first player to reach the target score starts the final round: everyone who hasn’t played yet in that round gets one more turn. The target is usually 3,000 points; the game window and the rules page show the target for your table.
- When the round ends, the highest score wins. Players with equal top scores split the prize.
- If every other player forfeits, the last player still in the game wins.
¶ Stakes and fees
| Stake buttons | 1,000 / 5,000 / 10,000 / 25,000 / 50,000 / 100,000 gold |
| Allowed range | 1,000 gold up to the maximum shown in the window |
| Players | 2 to 4, all at the same stake |
| House fee | 5% of the pot |
- The pot is every player’s stake added together.
- Your stake is paid from one place: the coins in your backpack, the coins in your bank box, a single bank check, or your bank balance. If none of them covers the stake by itself, you can’t join at that stake, even if they would cover it added together.
- The lobby shows the full pot and what the winner takes before you open a game.
¶ Winning and payouts
- The winner gets the pot minus the 5% house fee. With a tie, the prize is split evenly between the winners, and any odd gold left over from the split goes to the house.
- Winnings are added to your bank balance, and a message tells you how much arrived.
- The result window shows the pot, the house fee, the prize and the final standings. Play Again opens a new game at the same stake and for the same number of players.
- Games opened at higher stakes and very large pots are announced to the shard.
¶ Good to know
- Turn timer: each decision has 30 seconds, and a whole turn is capped at 2 minutes. The countdown is shown on your seat card. If time runs out, the table plays for you: it keeps your selection, or the best scoring dice, and banks if your turn has enough points. If it doesn’t, the table rolls the remaining dice for you, unless the 2-minute turn limit has been reached, in which case your turn simply ends.
- Missing turns: running out of time twice in a row without making a move yourself in between forfeits the game. This can happen within a single turn.
- Leaving a game that hasn’t started: press Leave and refund to get your full stake back. If nobody joins your game within 3 minutes, it is cancelled and your stake is refunded.
- Leaving a game in progress: pressing Leave asks you to confirm. If you leave, you forfeit and your stake stays in the pot.
- Logging out or walking away: before the game starts, you lose your seat and your stake is refunded. During a game you’re marked Away and your turns are skipped. Come back in time and you carry on with a “Welcome back” message. Stay away too long and you forfeit. If every player drops out, the game is cancelled and every stake is returned.
- Closing the window doesn’t take you out of the game. Talk to the Dice Master again and press Resume game.
- Server restarts: any Farkle game that is waiting or in progress when the server restarts is cancelled, and every stake is refunded.
- Refunds go to your bank balance, with a message telling you how much was returned.