Exciting Dice Game For Strategic Decision Making

Farkel

Exciting dice game to build strategic thinking & teamwork.

Super engaging
Exciting
Play in singles or pairs
Ideal for small groups

Step-by-Step Instructions

As a useful reference, visit the Resources tab to download the fully documented instructions.
Form 2 to 5 small teams, preferably in pairs.
On paper, record the team names and allocate 12 lives (small strokes of pen) to each team.
Announce that the winning team will be the first to have earned 100,000 points and have at least one life remaining.
Any time the dice are thrown, a team aims to roll any one of five combinations:
– A 1, earns 1,000 points.
– A 5, earn 500 points.
– Three of a kind, earns 1,000 points x value of one of the dice, except for three 1s which earns 10,000 points.
– A full straight, earns 10,000 points, eg 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6.
– Any three pairs, earns 10,000 points, eg 2 – 2 – 3 – 3 – 5 – 5.
Any roll without one of these five combinations is a ‘Farkel Out,’ and the team will lose all of the accumulated points of the current round, and one life.
Any time a Farkel Out occurs with all six dice, the team to lose all of the accumulated points of the current round, and two lives.
After any roll that produces a winning combination, a team will have two choices:
– They may choose to stop rolling, bank their accumulated points, and pass the dice to the next team; or
– They may keep rolling the dice to build a bigger score, but risk a Farkel Out. Once a team banks their points, they can never be lost or taken away.
To continue rolling the dice, a team must put aside all of the dice that formed at least one of the winning combinations.
On the occasion a team has set aside all six of the dice, they may start over with all six dice again to continue to build their score.
The first team to throw a 6, will start the game with all six dice.
When a team has stopped and banked their accumulated points, the next team may choose to start their new round on zero with all six dice, or buy the points (and dice) to belonging to the passing team.
If the receiving team chooses to buy, it will cost one life for every dice not used by the passing team to build their score.
If they roll any one of the five winning combinations with any of the dice they purchased, they immediately earn all of the points accumulated by the passing team, plus the value of the dice they just rolled.
If the purchased dice do not produce a winning combination, the receiving team will Farkel Out, and must pass the dice to the next team.
Note, the points belonging to the passing team are not taken away, they are duplicated for the benefit of the receiving team to reward them for taking a risk.
Play continues for many rounds, often lasting an hour or more.
When one team remains (all others have been eliminated because they lost all 12 lives,) this team will be entitled to play one complete round for every 10,000 points, or part thereof, they are short of 100,000 points.
A round is deemed to be complete when a team chooses to bank their points, or rolls a Farkel Out.
The last remaining team will continue to play their allocated rounds for as long as they have one life remaining, or they bank more than 100,000 points (in which case they win.)

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Original post February 2018, last updated September 2025.

BY Mark Collard - Experiential Trainer, Author & Speaker

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Exciting Dice Game

Step-by-Step Instructions

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Exciting Dice Game

Step-by-Step Instructions

Resources Premium

How To Play Narrative Premium

Practical Leadership Tips Premium

Social-Emotional Learning Premium

Health & Wellness Programming Premium

Popular Variations Premium

You Might Also Like... Premium

Useful Framing Ideas Premium

Reflection Tips & Strategies Premium

Source Premium

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