Farkel

'Farkel' is a cute portable dice game that comes in a container that is like the little plastic canisters you (used to) buy film in. Nancy bought Farkel the same time we got Puerto Rico, and keeps it in her handbag for those odd moments. Ten out of ten for practicality (both wife and game). It only cost about $6AU. Good value.

Very simple game, really. The idea is to be the first to 10000 points. You accumulate points by taking it in turns to roll the dice. Each player starts their turn by rolling six dice. '1's and '5's count as 100 and 50 respectively, while triples, quadruples, quintuples, six of a kinds, pairs of triples, triplets of pairs and straights all count for various amounts of points. After each roll the player makes sure that of the dice they rolled they can get some score. They set the dice aside that they wish to score, and then decide whether to re-roll the dice that weren't aren't aside. The process continues, until the player either rolls dice that have no score (they 'bust') or they have set aside all six dice with which they started. If they have so scored all six of the dice, they have the choice to start the process of rolling again, adding the score to that which they did the first time through. If a player busts, they don't score any points from the dice they've set aside (if any) previously through that turn. A player must be able to score at least 500 points from the dice in one turn before they are allowed to decline the option to reroll remaining dice (ie to get on the board takes a minimum of 500 points).

The art is knowing when to add the total of points scored from dice you've set aside, and when to keep on rolling.

It's not a heavy game, and is nice to play after a more intense game just to wind everyone down in a games evening. We played a four player game after a game of Puerto Rico. The Farkel game went about 40 min. I won with score of 11000 odd, Paul next, then Mark Robbo, then Nancy. Even though my logical brain tells me that it was mere 'luck' that led to my victory, it still feels like something to be a bit chuffed about.