Dice games
10,000 (Farkle)
- players
- 2–10
- minutes
- 30
- years
- 8+
In the box
5 dice
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Origin
- Traditional game, with no specific designer or publisher
- Mechanics
- Dice RollingPaper and PencilPush Your LuckRe-rolling and LockingSet Collection
Where to buy it
Near you
In a shop
Within 50 km.
The basics
With five dice, the aim is to reach 10,000 points, or 5,000 for a short game. On your turn, roll the dice, set aside at least one scoring die (ones, fives, three of a kind, straights), then either stop to write down your points or reroll the rest, at the risk of a blank roll that wipes out the whole turn. The first to hit the target exactly, without going over, wins.
Traditional rules, checked against reference sources · October 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
5 dice, Target 10,000, 5,000 for a short game
- Five dice, a score sheet, two or more players.
- Before you start, agree on the target, 10,000 points or 5,000 for a short game, and on the minimum needed to open.
How to play
Keep 1 scoring die, Blank roll: turn lost, Open at 500 points
- On your turn, roll all five dice.
- After each roll, set aside at least one scoring die, then choose: stop and write down the turn’s points, or reroll the remaining dice.
- A combination only counts if it comes from a single roll: a 5 kept from the first roll and two 5s on the next one make three single 5s, 150 points, not three of a kind.
- A roll with no scoring die at all is a blank roll: the turn’s points are lost and play passes on.
- When all five dice have scored, you may pick them all up again and keep adding to the same turn; some tables make it compulsory.
- To write down your first points, you need a turn of at least 500 points; some tables ask for 750 or 1,000. After that, you may stop whenever you like.
Scoring
Ones 100, fives 50, Three 1s: 1,000, Straight 1,500
- A 1 is worth 100 points, a 5 is worth 50. On their own, 2s, 3s, 4s and 6s score nothing.
- Three 1s are worth 1,000 points. Three of any other value are worth that value times 100: three 4s make 400.
- Four of a kind are worth double the three of a kind, and five of a kind double again: four 3s make 600, five 3s make 1,200.
- A five-dice straight, 1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6, is worth 1,500 points.
End of the game
Exactly 10,000, Without going over
- You must reach exactly 10,000 points, without going over: the first player to do so wins.
- A turn that would take you past the target is not added. Some tables punish it as well: the player drops back to zero, or to 5,000 if they had passed it.
House rules and pitfalls
This page follows 10,000 as it is played in France: five dice and a target you must hit exactly.
- This page follows 10,000 as it is played in France: five dice and a target you must hit exactly. The six-dice game is the American Farkle, described below.
- Scoring tables vary a lot from one family to another: a full house scored separately, five 1s winning on the spot, a higher or lower opening. Settle them before the first game, not halfway through.
- The game’s dilemma fits in one question: bank a safe 350 points, or reroll the last two dice to try for more.
- In Farkle, you roll six dice: three pairs are worth 1,500 points there, a 1-to-6 straight is worth 1,500 or 2,500 points depending on the rules, and you may go past the target. As soon as a player reaches 10,000 points, each of the others plays one last turn, then the highest total wins.
- PlayMonster’s Farkle also scores three 1s at 300, and four, five or six of a kind at 1,000, 2,000 or 3,000 points. If you play with that box, follow its rules.
Going further
Variants · In the same family · Play with the game assistant
Variants
Target
5,000 points
10,000 points
Opening
500 points to open
750 points to open
1,000 points to open
No minimum to open
choose them when you start a game: the scorer adapts