History of Farkle
Farkle is an ancient dice game. One of the reasons it has stood the test of time is the simplicity of both the equipment and the rules. All that is required is 6 dice, and some way to track score, such as a notepad. It requires no cards, the counting is easy, and it can be taught in just a few minutes. As an added bonus, there is quite a bit of strategy to it, unlike some other dice games.
The original game is said by some to have been first played in Iceland by Sir Albert Farkle in the 14th century.
Revolutionary War historians and American history reinactors argue that the game actually came over on French sailing ships in the 1600’s. This historic game - spelled “FARKLE” - was played with five dice and had varying rules and scoring combinations which were passed down in families.
The first printed reference to Farkle is found in a festival directory printed during the time of Shakespeare.
There have been numerous dice games trademarked under the name Farkle. The US Patent and Trademark office list half a dozen since 1982. They are all dead now.
How about the name Farkel?
In 1996 Legendary Games started marketing a slightly modified version of the game, changing the traditional scoring of three ones, and adding some more scoring combinations. In 1997 they gained a trademark for “THE ORIGINAL OLD FARKEL A GAME OF GUTS AND LUCK”. They claimed the trademark for “Farkel” in 2007.
