02-006 Twisted Farkel

02-006
Twisted Farkel

If the most expensive part of a game is its design, the cheapest way to publish your own game is to get something from the public domain and remake it under your own brand. There are plenty of titles available to grab, Chess, Chinese Checkers, Go, Domino, Poker Dice, just to name a few.

If you like tabletop games, you should have come across many of this kind of publishers. They mainly publish games under public domain, with almost none of their games are designed by themselves.

The only problem is, if you can make it, others can also make. How to make sure people buying your product but not the other’s is always a challenge.

Some people go a bit further. They grab a traditional game from public domain, twist it a little bit, register a new name for it, and publish it under their own brand. Then people cannot copy. “Those people just try to make money from nowhere.” That is what I used to think about them. “I will never pay to buy their games.” Not until I watched the story of “Mr. Farkel”.

I have not heard of this game in my area. But Farkle is popular in America. It is a traditional dice game with only a few components. It is easy, fun and fast pace. However, just like you can’t find a rope designated for “Tug of War”, it is sometimes difficult to find a dedicated copy of a traditional game. And this is why Charlie Potter decided to become “Mr. Farkel”.

Story started in the mid-90s when Charlie Potter found that, as such a popular game, no one in America was actually manufacturing Farkle. So he decided to make his own. He gave up his farming career and changed his chicken shed to the world’s first “Farkel” factory. He had no experience in game making, no equipment, and no connection at all. Everything was started from sketch. I was impressed by his passion. As a man with a family, this act is a real adventure. I decided to get a copy of Farkel from him.

Charlie did added some twists to the original game. He changed some of the game play and registered it with a new name “Farkel”. Yes, Farkle is a traditional game. But Farkel is copyrighted. You can’t copy, although many people are doing.

Now, many people are making Farkle, including some big manufacturers. But if you would like to get a copy of Farkle, I would recommend you to get one from “Mr. Farkel”, The Legendary Games Inc.

Twisted Farkel

The Farkel I got is a family version called “Twisted Farkel”. Unlike the original pocket version, it comes with six standard 16mm dice and a 19mm special “determinator” die. It is much easier to read the number of pips from large dice. Twisted rules are also included.

So, what are the differences between Farkel and Farkle?

There are only 2 difference. First, “Mr. Farkel” has brought down the score of 3 ones from 1000 point to 300. Also, he has introduced a “High Stack” mode described as follow:

PLAYING THE HIGH STAKES™ VERSION

After all players are in the game, you may pick up any dice left unrolled by the previous player and roll those dice. If you roll any scoring dice, you receive the same score that the previous player rolled plus the points you have rolled. In High Stakes, stopping after you make all six dice count for score will leave all six dice eligible for the next player.

Can I play Farkle with Farkel?

Yes, sure. The components are the same. Just stick to the original rules will do.

What are the differences between Farkel and Twisted Farkel?

Twisted Farkel is different from Farkel in 3 parts:

1. There is no fixed point for entering the game. Instead, all player roll a die at the beginning of the game and start the game with 100 times their roll, i.e., “1” = 100 points, “2” = 200 points, etc. Players who tie for high score must re-roll to determine who starts the game.
2. There is a penalty of 500 points per Farkel.
3. [The main difference] The introduction of the Determinator die. At the end of each roll, player will roll the Determinator die. According to the outcome of the roll, player will pass their points to the “determinated” player as follow:

• “RIGHT ONE”: The player immediately to your right
• “RIGHT TWO”: The player two places to your right
• “LEFT ONE”: The player immediately to your left
• “LEFT TWO”: The player two places to your left
• “HIGH SCORE”: The player with the highest score
• “LOW SCORE”: The player with the lowest score

Yes, the rule of the game is totally twisted. In Farkel, player gets the highest point wins. In Twisted Farkel, player gets the lowest point wins.

Can I play Farkel with Twisted Farkel?

Sure, just stick to the original rule and ignore the “Determinator” die.

General Information

Player	2 to 6
Playing Time	15 mins
Age	8+
Year Released	2011
Designer	?
Publisher	Legendary Games, Inc.
Family	Dice Rolling, Paper and Pencil
Score	5.1 (Board Game Geek)

Specifications

Dice size	16mm and 19mm
# of dice	7
Faces	6
Details	The game contains 6 standard 16mm dice and 1 specialty marked 19mm “determinator” die. The “determinator” die is a d6 die with its six faces marked as “LEFT ONE”, “LEFT TWO”, “RIGHT ONE”, “RIGHT TWO”, “HIGH SCORE” & “LOW SCORE” respectively. In additional, there are 20 pieces of scorepad and a dice cup.

The game play

 

Where to buy?

Amazon.

Hacking

Farkle is a traditional game and can be played with 6 standard d6 dice. Scorepad is widely available on internet.

Farkel is very similar to Farkle with the same components. Farkel scorepad is also widely available on internet.

Twisted Farkel requires a special die and cannot be hacked.

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