Basic Rules of Farkle

Two players take turns rolling and scoring 6 dice (see Scoring Table below).  After each roll a player may either BANK the points scored, or set aside at least one scoring die and continue to ROLL the remaining dice for an increased score.  In the event of a non-scoring roll (called a Farkle), the player forfeits all points for that round and play passes to the opponent.  The first player to reach a designated target score wins the game.

Farkle Scoring Table

Arkel supports two scoring modes:-
Classic Farkle (the default) and Facebook-style "Original" Farkle.

See the Rules Section below to see how to choose a mode.

Although we all like to maximize points, a sample roll (1,3,5,2,2,2) may be scored in different ways:

Score 5 for 50 points.

Score 1 for 100 points.

Score 1 + 5 for 150 points.

Score Triple-2 for 200 points.

Score Triple-2 + 1 for 300 points.

Score Triple-2 + 1 + 5 for 350 points.

Each roll is scored independently and cannot be combined.  For example, if a player rolls three sixes in one roll, and three sixes in the next roll, each triple will be scored independently (600 + 600) and may not be combined for six-of-a-kind (3000).

A player may, for strategic reasons, elect not to set aside ALL scoring dice available.  For example, on their first roll, many players will avoid scoring a five (worth only 50 points) or even a triple-2 (worth only 200 points), hoping for a better score in the next roll.

Arkel Main Screen

The main screen in Arkel is divided into three sections: Scoring, Dock and Control.

Scoring Section

In the Scoring section shown here, the current player is Tim. His score so far is 2250 and so far in this turn he has rolled another 600. Tim had 1 Farkle coming into this turn (red sphere in top left).

AI, the opposing player, has 3850 points.

"In Hand" is an optional hint section that shows the value of the dice in the current roll and not yet Banked.

In single-player Facebook style play, the second player score area (AI 3850 in this screenshot) changes to display the turn number. 

Dock

The center (blue) region of the screen is called the Dock. After a Roll, when a player touches a die, it moves into the dock. If Roll is touched again, the total of any dice in the Dock are added to the Turn score while the remaining dice are rolled. More dice may be added to the dock on successive rolls. By touching Bank, the players score is increased by the points earned in this turn and the dock is cleared. A non-scoring roll (called a Farkle) cancels any points earned for the entire turn.

Game status and other messages appear regularly at the top of the Dock. Possible messages are:

1. ?Player Farkled - The player threw a non-scoring roll, so they lose their turn and score zero for this turn.
   

2. ?Non-scoring Dice - Check the dock, some of your dice are not scorable.
   

3. ?Hot Dice! - You have 6 scoring dice in the dock and the Hot Dice Rule is on, so you must Roll at least once more.
   

4. ?Need xx to open- Insufficeint points to "open"
   

5. ?300 point min. to bank- facebook style rule requiring 300 points or more in each turn.
   

6. ?New Hi Score / New best Turn Score - You have set a record in one of the categories
   

To redisplay the most recent message, tap on the upper-center section of the Dock.

Control Section

The Roll button rolls the non-docked dice.

The Bank button ends a turn and updates the player's score..

The Graph icon on the left side of the game displays Game Statistics.

The  i  button on the left side of the Control Section shows this Help text.

New will start a new game.

The Tools icon brings up a configuration screen with the following options:

1. 1.Player Names. By default, Player 2 is a computer opponent -- named AI (for Artificial Intelligence) -- the name may be changed.
   

2. 2.Swap player names to change order of play by clicking the twin arrow icon.
   

3. 3.Gold Robot Icon - Enable/disable the computer opponent.
   

4. 4.Number of players - Solo or 2 player games
   

5. 5.Game sounds - On/Off
   

6. 6.In Hand - Show/Hide the value of dice in the current roll.
   

7. 7.Game Skin - Choose classic Arkel or the newer Anthracite theme.
   

8. 8.AI - Choose the computer-player algorithm (Timid, Normal, Fearless or Random)
   

9. 9.Turbo AI - Speed-up the Computer opponent
   

If One player game is selected, the last 2 AI selections above are replaced by a choice of Classic or Best-of-10 games.

Touch the Checkmark icon to return to the game screen.

The Rules button on the right side of the screen lets you customize the Farkle Rules in effect:

1. 1.Points to Open - points needed in a single turn for a player to open in a game (300, 350 or 500)
   

2. 2.Points Goal - target score to win the game (1000, 5000, 10,000)
   

3. 3.Hot Dice - If all six dice are scored, the player may not Bank but must roll at least one more time.
   

4. 4.Last Chance - When a player meets the Point Goal, the opponent has one last opportunity to surpass that score.
   

5. 5.Small Straight - 5-dice straight scores 500 points.
   

6. 6.Triple Farkle - Three consecutive Farkles result in a 1,000 point deduction from player's total score.
   

7. 7.FB-Style Play - Set score values and other options to those used in the Facebook game, "Farkle Original".
   

Statistics & Awards

The Graph icon on the main window shows ongoing Game Statistics and awards earned.

The game tracks a number of different statistics for both Single-player and 2-player games.

Achievement awards are earned over time. There are 21 Award categories but we'd like to hear from you with ideas for more. When a player earns a new award the awards icon appears in the Control area for a short time.

To see a list of all awards and the awards already earned, touch the Graph icon and hit the Awards tab on the bottom of the screen. Awards you have already won have a color icon.

All game settings are stored in the iPhone/iTouch memory.  In the event a game is interrupted by an incoming call or a player exits the game, play will resume at the same point, with configuration and rule settings intact.

For  game strategy and interesting background information  we recommend the Wikipedia article:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farkle

We hope you enjoy playing this game as much as we did developing it.  If you have any questions or issues please contact us via the website or by emailing us.

Enjoy,

Tim and Lisa

Top Cat Games

email: topcatgames (at) gmail.com