I love dice games, if there’s an underground Yahtzee game happening, I am there with my Yahtzee shoes on. However, I am a little ashamed to admit that I had never played Farkle before trying out Farkle Mania Online on my iPhone. It took me while to get the hang of this little game, but it is definitely a game that will be staying on my iPhone for awhile.
Overview
The rules of Farkle Mania Online are as follows:
Each player scores points by rolling 6 dice each round.
You can end your turn, but you have to have more than 300 points in each round before you can tap the “Collect” button.
If you don’t get any scoring dice when you rolled, You lost your point in this round, and that’s a “FARKLE” .
When you make a scoring combination using all dice, It’s called “HOT DICE”. You can roll all 6 dice again or collect your points.
Farkle Mania can be played alone, or online against others. Logging in is as simple as connecting to your Facebook account . (You can also play in guest mode.) After logging in, you’ll have a choice of playing a single player game, playing online against a human opponent, or playing the bonus game. While I was learning the game, I played the single player mode.
Online help is simple, yet informative, the help section consists of two screens, and includes a scoring chart that makes scoring a little easier to understand. One really useful help feature is the hints the game will make if you take too long to make a move after throwing the dice. The hints consist of glowing dice. This was very useful when I first began playing, and helped me get the hang of scoring and strategy.
You can throw the dice and keep collecting points, but you must beware of the “FARKLE!” This occurs when none of the dice you just threw offer any scoring opportunities. As you can imagine, the risk for this grows higher with every throw of the dice, as the number of dice begin to diminish.
You place the size of your bets before starting the game, and that comes out of your coin total. Then, while playing the game, you score points, thus filling up your Farkle flasks, which you can then use to get more coins.
Online play allows you to play Farkle against opponents from around the globe. I was uncomfortable playing online at first, but soon got the hang of it.
The graphics in Farkle Mania Online are sharp and attractive. They add to the enjoyment of the game, and the layout is logical and well done. Sound effects, from the shake of the dice, to the background music is unobtrusive and add to the enjoyment.
Verdict
I enjoyed playing Farkle Mania. Even though I had never played Farkle in the past, the game was enjoyable and easy to learn. The game takes on an added dimension when you play a human opponent online, but if you’re not familiar with the game, I suggest playing single player until you’re used to the game.
If you enjoy dice games I’d say give Farkle Mania Online a try. The price is certainly right, (it’s free), and the game is an enjoyable time passer.
Rating: 4/5[rating:4.0]
Price: Free. (In-App purchases are available.) Available on the iPhone and iPad in the App Store. [DIRECT LINK]
Things I liked:
- Fun, and easy to learn.
- Graphics, sound effects and music all add to the fun of the game.
- Online help and hints system is very useful.
- Uses the full screen of the iPhone 5, always a plus.
Things I’d like to see:
- While the online help was nice, a full blown tutorial is always welcome.
