We here on the Avenue have taken to a new game of late. I guess it isn’t technically a “new game,” because there is a really in-depth Wikipedia entry devoted to it, and there are countless other websites devoted to its various incarnations and rule variations. I’m talking, of course, about “Farkle“, the dice game sometimes known as “10,000”. We have been playing it rather incessantly since Ilya returned from San Francisco on Friday.
According to it’s Wiki, “Farkle is played by two or more players, with each player in succession having a turn at throwing the dice. Each player’s turn results in a score, and the scores for each player accumulate to some winning total (usually 10,000). At the beginning of each turn, the player throws all six six-sided dice. After each throw, one or more scoring dice must be set aside (see sections on scoring below). The player may then either end their turn and bank the score accumulated so far, or continue to throw the remaining dice. If the player has scored all six dice, they have “hot dice” and may continue their turn with a new throw of all six dice, adding to the score they have already accumulated. If none of the dice score in any given throw, the player has “farkled” and all points for that turn are lost. At the end of the player’s turn, the dice are handed to the next player in succession (usually in clockwise rotation), and they have their turn. Once a player has achieved a winning point total, each other player has one last turn to score enough points to surpass that high-score.”
Of course, the fun of Farkle is derived entirely by getting really, really wasted and acting like a dick. In fact, it’s probably really good for aspiring actors or improv artists, because you can experiment with different personae or “characters” as you play, especially when a person loses their turn and everybody has to say/yell “Farkled!” Generally speaking, my persona is that of a guy who wants to genuinely offer advice to his fellow players, but then insults them mercilessly the moment they crap out. I’ve experimented with several voices, and the best seems to be a louder, slightly more aggressive rip-off of the South Park movie-trailer voice (“Rob Schneider Is…A Carrot!”). And also, I really suck at the game, have never won a single match, and usually wind up in last place. The other night I was sitting on 4,600 points on my first turn, and then farkled. I didn’t score a single point for the remainder of that match (which was suspended, because Tom had to leave and maybe Phoebe did too?).
Now that we’re living in a totally farkled household (except Sari, who spends all her time playing Boggle. Boggle? Boggle?! Farkle!) , we’re finding new and interesting ways to fit the word into everyday conversation. For example, I just received a text message from Nicci stating, “Farkled! My sister has heard of and likes Pavement!” I said “Farkled!” to myself when the car in front of me stole my parking spot at House of Spirits the other night. I guess it’s a general term of frustration, usually uttered upon recognition of a stupid mistake or ironic turn of events. Someone else came up with a great definition last night but I don’t remember who it was or what they said. I’ve been kind of out-of-it for a few days.
We recently considered maybe playing less Farkle, or perhaps trying a different game, but our concerns were dismissed as “depressing”.
