Farkle Is Older than Your Parents
Learn about the history of Farkle, one of the world’s oldest dice games.
Dice
Thanks to archaelogist digging up the past, dice have been found in Egyptions tombs dating back to 2,000 BCE. A site excavated in modern day Iran found a set of dice dating 3,000 BCE which is over 5,000 years ago. If you visited the site and listened carefully you can still hear the faint whisper of the other player saying “When are you going to roll?” No doubt, older dice will be found. These ancient dice had many uses in addition to games, such as predicting the future.
Farkle History
Sir Albert Farkle of Iceland is often credited as the originator of the game in the 14th century but variations most likely existed before then.
Other Names for Farkle
As Farkle gained popularity around the world it’s name changed to reflect the locality. Some of the most popular used names are Ten Thousand or 10,000, Five Thousand or 5,000, 5000 Progressive, Zilch, Farkel (TM), Forkle, Blewit, Snap, Kaput, Dix Mille (French), Cosmic WimpOut (five dice), Keepers (Australian, 5 dice), Double Cameroon (10 dice) and Pass the Pigs.