How to Play Farkle (10,000)

Objective & Equipment

Farkle — also commonly called 10,000, Greed, or Zilch depending on the region — is a push-your-luck dice game for two or more players. All you need is six standard six-sided dice and something to keep score with. The objective is simple: be the first player to accumulate 10,000 or more points and survive a final round of play from all opponents.

On your turn, roll all six dice. Set aside at least one scoring die or combination, then decide: bank your points and end your turn, or keep rolling the remaining dice to try to score more. The danger is Farkling — rolling the non-banked dice and scoring nothing — which wipes out all unbanked points for that turn.

Scoring Combinations

Combination	Score
Single 1	100 points
Single 5	50 points
Three 1s	1,000 points
Three 2s	200 points
Three 3s	300 points
Three 4s	400 points
Three 5s	500 points
Three 6s	600 points
Four of a Kind	1,000 points
Five of a Kind	2,000 points
Six of a Kind	3,000 points
Straight (1-2-3-4-5-6)	1,500 points
Three Pairs	1,500 points

Any combination of dice not listed above scores zero. Only dice in a scoring combination may be set aside — you cannot set aside a non-scoring die "just in case."

What is a Farkle?

A Farkle (sometimes called a bust or a zilch) occurs when you roll the non-banked dice and none of them form a scoring combination. When this happens, you lose all unbanked points from the current turn — not just from that roll. The dice pass to the next player and you score nothing for the round.

This is the core tension of the game. Rolling five dice with 500 points already set aside sounds safe, but the probability of Farkling on five dice is only about 8%. On three dice it climbs to about 28%, and on two dice to roughly 44%. Knowing when to stop is the skill that separates good Farkle players from lucky ones.

Hot Dice (All Six Score)

If all six dice are in scoring combinations after a roll, you've rolled hot dice. This is a special rule: you may pick up all six dice and roll again, adding whatever you score next to your current turn total. Hot dice refresh your dice pool completely. Some players call this "on fire" or a "six-dice roll." Getting a straight (1-2-3-4-5-6) or three pairs on a single roll triggers hot dice automatically.

Getting on the Board

Many Farkle variants require a player to score at least 500 points in a single turn to "get on the board" and start recording points. Until then, you must keep rolling until you reach 500 or Farkle. This rule prevents players from banking trivial amounts early and is standard in the 10,000 variant.

The Final Round

When a player reaches 10,000 points and banks them, all other players get exactly one more turn to try to beat that score. The player with the highest total at the end of the final round wins — so even a substantial lead isn't safe until the final round ends.

Strategy Tips

Bank early in the mid-game. Once you have 300–500 points set aside and only three or four dice remain, the Farkle risk grows fast. Banking frequently builds a consistent score more reliably than chasing big single-turn totals.

Chase hot dice aggressively early. With six dice in play the Farkle probability is low (about 2%). Rolling all six after a good first roll is almost always worth it. The math flips once you're down to three or fewer dice.

Adapt to the endgame. If an opponent is close to 10,000, you need bigger turns. The final round forces everyone to take more risk — rolling down to two or three dice to chase the win may be correct even when the probability normally wouldn't justify it.