Farkle

thumb|A Farkle game in progress; a group of three threes has been set aside, earning 300 points. Farkle, or Farkel, is a family dice game with varying rules. Alternate names and similar games include Dix Mille, Ten Thousand, Cosmic Wimpout, Chicago, Greed, Hot Dice, Volle Lotte, Squelch, Zilch, and Zonk. A version has been marketed commercially since 1996 under the brand name Pocket Farkel by Legendary Games Inc. The game is believed to have arrived to North America on French sailing ships in the 1600s, and has been passed down in families as a folk game ever since. As such, while the basic rules are well-established, there is a wide range of variation in scoring and play. The game is played with six dice (five in some variations), along with paper and a pencil or pen for keeping score.

== History == According to the official Pocket Farkel game documents, scholars believe the game arrived on French sailing ships in the 1600s and has been passed down in families ever since. The game has also been claimed to originate from Iceland through the purported English nobleman Sir Albert Farkle, who is said to have first played it there in the 1300s or 1400s, but this is not considered credible. Another claim is that the game originates in Texas, based on the fact that farkleberries grow there and the game could purportedly be played with dried farkleberries. However, as a folk game passed down through families, the game has a number of names: even if the name "Farkle" did come from farkleberries, as one of many names of the game, it could simply have been acquired as the game passed through Texas.