Play Zilch Online

What Is Zilch?

Zilch is a six-dice push-your-luck game and the sharpest common variant of Farkle. The turn structure is identical: roll six dice, set aside dice that score, then either bank the running total or roll the rest for more. Roll nothing that scores and you have zilched, losing the turn’s total. Score with all six and you pick them up for a free roll. The race is to 10,000, after which the other player gets one final turn.

Three rules give Zilch its own character. Three 1s are worth 1,000, and every additional matching die doubles a set, so five or six of a kind pay far more than the flat values in the boxed Farkle game. You must have at least 300 on the table before you are allowed to bank, every turn, so there is no such thing as a safe 100-point turn. And three zilches in a row cost 500 points from your banked score, which turns a run of bad luck into a genuine tactical problem. Together these make Zilch swingier than Farkle and a little more punishing than its folk ancestor Ten Thousand, while keeping the same one-decision heart as Pig.

A Short History of Zilch

The word “zilch,” American slang for nothing, has been attached to the roll-and-bank dice game for as long as anyone has written the rules down. It appears alongside Ten Thousand, Dix Mille, Greed, Zonk, Squelch and Hot Dice as one of the family’s many folk names. No one owns it, and no standardized scoring table exists for the folk game: a family’s “zilch” might pay 1,000 or 300 for three 1s and might or might not allow three pairs.

The version people mean today when they say Zilch is the one defined by the internet. In 2008 the developer Gaby Vanhegan released a free Flash game called Zilch on playr.co.uk, and it spread quickly across the casual gaming portals of that era. Its rules sheet fixed a specific table: 1s and 5s, triples at face times 100 with three 1s at 1,000, doubling for each extra matching die, 1,500 for a straight or three pairs, a 300-point minimum to bank, a free roll for scoring with all six, a 500-point penalty for three consecutive zilches, and a race to 10,000 with a last turn for the trailing player. It was reviewed on Jay Is Games in November 2008 and in 2010 the software engineer Matt Busche published a full expected-value analysis of it, computing an average of roughly 620 points per turn under optimal play. That online rule set, rather than any boxed product, is what this page teaches and what the game above implements, with one small exception noted in the last section.

Zilch Rules

Components

• Six six-sided dice
• Pencil and paper or any score sheet
• Two or more players; the online version is you against the computer

Object

Be the higher scorer after one player reaches 10,000 points and the other has taken a final turn.

How a Turn Works

1. Roll all six dice.
2. Set aside at least one scoring die or combination. You may set aside several scoring groups at once, but never a die that does not score. Combinations count only within a single roll.
3. Bank or roll. Add the value of what you set aside to your turn total. If the total is 300 or more you may bank it. Otherwise, or if you prefer, roll the dice you did not set aside.
4. Free roll. If all six dice have been set aside as scoring dice, pick up all six and roll again, still adding to the same turn total.
5. Zilch. If a roll contains no scoring dice, the turn ends and the turn total is lost. Your zilch streak rises by one.
6. Three in a row. On a third consecutive zilch, subtract 500 from your banked score and reset the streak. Banking any turn also resets the streak.

Ending the Game

When a bank takes a player to 10,000 or more, the other player takes one last turn. The higher total wins; if the totals are level, the player who reached 10,000 first wins.

Scoring Table

Two triplets, such as 2-2-2-4-4-4, simply score as two triples (600). Four of a kind with a pair scores the four of a kind plus the pair only if the pair is 1s or 5s; a roll like 3-3-3-3-6-6 is 600 with two dead dice. A single 2, 3, 4 or 6 never scores.

Worked Examples

• 1 – 1 – 1 – 4 – 6 – 2. Three 1s: 1,000 points with three dice left. You are well over 300, so you may bank, but the table below says a 1,000-point total with three dice is close to break-even. Most players bank here.
• 5 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 3 – 2. Four 5s: the triple is 500 and doubles once to 1,000. Two dice remain. Bank.
• 2 – 2 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 5. Three pairs, 1,500, and all six dice are used, so you get a free roll. A player who only sees “two 5s for 100” has thrown away 1,400 and a fresh roll.
• 1 – 5 – 3 – 3 – 6 – 2. Set aside the 1 (100) and roll five dice, or the 1 and 5 (150) and roll four. Either way you cannot bank yet; you are under 300, so the extra die matters more than the extra 50.
• Turn total 250, two dice left. You may not bank. You must roll two dice with a 44.4 percent zilch chance, and even a 1 only takes you to 350. This is the 300 rule biting; the way to avoid it is to keep more dice in play earlier in the turn.
• Two zilches in a row, roll 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 6 – 6. Take the 1 and roll five dice, or hold and hope? You cannot bank 100. Roll: a third zilch costs 500 banked points, so the 7.7 percent zilch chance on five dice is now risking 100 plus 500.

The Odds of a Zilch

Zilch shares its zilch probabilities with Farkle, because both games score 1s, 5s and any three of a kind, and every straight or three-pair roll already contains a 1 or a 5. The expected values differ, though, because Zilch pays more for 1s and for multiples. The figures below were computed by enumerating every possible roll under the table above.

“Average points from the roll” is the expected value of the best set-aside, counting zilches as zero. On six dice, three or more 1s appear 6.2 percent of the time, four or more of any number 5.2 percent, a straight 1.5 percent and three pairs 3.9 percent.

Break-even totals

If your turn total is T and you roll n dice, one more roll gains the average above and risks T × (zilch chance). Setting the two equal gives the turn total at which rolling stops paying:

• 1 die: 25 ÷ 0.667 ≈ 37
• 2 dice: 50 ÷ 0.444 ≈ 113
• 3 dice: 87 ÷ 0.278 ≈ 313
• 4 dice: 144 ÷ 0.157 ≈ 915
• 5 dice: 226 ÷ 0.077 ≈ 2,930
• 6 dice: 411 ÷ 0.023 ≈ 17,800

These single-roll figures ignore the free roll and later rolls, so they slightly understate the case for rolling. Two things push the other way in Zilch. First, the 300 rule means the one- and two-die break-evens are irrelevant: you must roll anyway when under 300. Second, on a two-zilch streak the amount at risk is T plus 500, which moves every break-even down. With three dice and two zilches behind you, rolling is wrong once T + 500 exceeds about 313, which is to say always. Bank the moment you can.

Zilch Strategy

1. Get to 300 with as many dice as possible

The minimum is the whole game. Setting aside a lone 5 for 50 points costs you a die and barely moves you toward 300. Take the fewest dice that score the most, keep five or four in play, and let three of a kind or a second 1 carry you over the line.

2. Bank at 300 with three dice, around 900 with four

The break-even table gives the shape: with three dice left and 300 or more on the table, one more roll loses value on average. With four dice the line is about 900, with five dice well above 2,000. With six dice (a free roll) always roll.

3. Always take the free roll

A six-dice roll zilches 2.31 percent of the time and averages 411 points. Even holding 3,000, the expected loss is about 69 points against an expected gain of 411. The only exception is when banking wins the game on the spot.

4. Respect the streak

Two zilches in a row change the arithmetic completely: a third one costs 500 of the points you have already banked. On a two-zilch streak bank the first total of 300 you reach, no matter how many dice you hold. A streak of one is milder, but it is still a reason to shade toward banking.

5. Doubling changes what you keep

In Farkle, four of a kind is a flat 1,000 whatever the face. In Zilch, four 6s are 1,200 and four 1s are 2,000, while four 2s are only 400. When you have three of a kind and the option of rolling on, remember that the doubling only applies within a single roll: a fourth 6 on the next throw is worth 100, not another 600.

6. Play the score, not the dice

At 8,000 to 4,000 in your favor, bank early and let your opponent take the risks. Trailing by that much, push past the break-even totals: a zilch costs a player who is losing anyway very little. On the final turn, the target is exactly your opponent’s score plus one; nothing less has any value, so roll until you have it or zilch trying.

7. Look for six-dice shapes first

Before touching a die on a six-dice roll, check for a straight and three pairs. Both are 1,500 and both give you a free roll. A roll like 2-2-3-3-6-6 is worth 1,500 plus another six dice, and is a zilch to anyone who does not know the rule.

Common Mistakes

• Grabbing every 5. Fifty points for a die is a poor trade when you are still under 300 or intend to roll on.
• Trying to bank under 300. You cannot; plan the turn so you do not arrive at 250 with two dice.
• Ignoring the streak. Playing a two-zilch turn as if it were a normal one is the most expensive habit in Zilch.
• Merging dice across rolls. Three 4s set aside on one roll and a fourth 4 on the next are 400 plus nothing.
• Forgetting the final turn. Crossing 10,000 hands your opponent one more turn to pass you.

Variants and House Rules

• A “nothing” bonus. The original 2008 browser game paid 500 points for a six-dice roll containing no scoring dice at all, turning the worst opening throw into a gift. Our version, like most tabletop groups, treats it as an ordinary zilch.
• Three 1s = 300. The boxed Farkle value; makes 1s far less dominant.
• Flat multiples. Four, five and six of a kind at 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 regardless of face.
• Entry threshold instead of a per-turn minimum. Ten Thousand requires 500 once to get on the board, then lets you bank anything.
• Zilch penalty at 1,000, or no penalty at all.
• Straight at 1,000 or 2,000; three pairs at 750.

If Zilch’s swings appeal to you, Cosmic Wimpout is the countercultural cousin with five symbol dice and a 35-point opening rule, Zombie Dice trades points for brains, and Yahtzee is the scorecard-driven relative where a bad roll costs a category rather than a turn.

Glossary

• Zilch: A roll with no scoring dice; also the loss of the turn total that follows.
• Turn total: Points set aside so far this turn, not safe until banked.
• Bank: End the turn and add the turn total to your score; needs 300 or more.
• Free roll: All six dice set aside as scoring dice, earning another roll of six.
• Streak: Consecutive zilches; three trigger the 500-point penalty.
• Set aside: Remove scoring dice from play for the rest of the turn.
• Doubling: Each matching die beyond three doubles the value of the set.
• Final turn: The single turn the trailing player gets after the other reaches 10,000.

Play Zilch Online on Dice.now

The game at the top of this page is a two-player Zilch match against the computer using the table printed above: 1s at 100 and 5s at 50, three of a kind at face times 100 with three 1s at 1,000, doubling for every extra matching die, and 1,500 for a 1-6 straight or three pairs. Banking requires a turn total of 300 or more, all six dice scoring gives a free roll, a third zilch in a row costs 500 banked points (your score can go negative), and the first player to 10,000 triggers one final turn for the other, with ties going to the player who got there first.

Tap or click dice to set them aside. The message line reports what your selection is worth and what the turn total would be, refuses any selection that includes a non-scoring die, and tells you when you are still short of 300. A Select best button picks the highest-scoring set-aside for you, and the preview line beneath the dice shows the best available set-aside and the exact zilch odds of your next roll. The Roll button says how many dice you will throw and turns into a free-roll button when your selection uses the last die; Bank shows the total it would bank and stays disabled under 300. The scoreboard tracks both players’ scores, zilch counts and current streaks.

The computer plays in the open, with every roll, set-aside and decision in the log. It picks a set-aside by comparing, for each valid option, the points gained plus the average value of the next roll minus the zilch chance times what would be lost, so it keeps a single 1 and rolls five dice rather than taking a 5 as well. It never banks under 300 and always takes a free roll. Otherwise it banks at 300 or more with three or fewer dice left, at 900 with four and at 2,500 with five, raises its bar to 600 when you are past 7,000 and 2,000 or more ahead, treats a pending third zilch as 500 extra points at risk, banks as soon as a total would reach 10,000, and on its final turn rolls until it is ahead of you or zilches.

Rolls use your browser’s cryptographic random number generator. Your best final score and win-loss record are stored on your device and never sent anywhere. Three hundred to bank, five hundred to lose: roll the dice.