Not All Cows Are Created Equal

One of Uncle Malcolm's Jersey Cows

If there's one thing a Vermont girl knows it's that not all cows are created equal.

Jersey cows, for example (the brown ones) are the best. 

This is what my Uncle Malcolm says, anyway, and I take his word as law when it comes to cows. 

You should, too.

Holsteins (the black and white ones) might give you more milk, but everyone knows that the quality of a Holstein's milk is far inferior to that of a Jersey cow. 

A Holstein will give you lots of skim milk but a Jersey will give you pure cream. 

I am very loyal to Jersey cows, as you can tell, but this summer I did discover one Holstein that could give a Jersey a run for its money.

VS.

That's right, Holstein vs. Jersey and it was a close call!

Have you ever heard of Cornhole? 

I hadn't, until our July 4th picnic when my uncle, aunt and cousins brought this game over for us to play.  I LOVE Cornhole.  It's my new favorite game.  And as soon as I move to a place where I actually have my own yard I'm going to hire my cousin Maria's fiancee Matt to make us one of these sets, and my cousin Lauren to paint it for us.  Didn't they do an amazing job with that one?!

The object is, of course, to get as many bean bags in the hole as possible.  You also get points for landing on the board, which is harder than it looks.  The first team to 21 wins, but you have to be careful because if you go over 21 you LOSE.

Jerseys rule, Holsteins drool!

Farkle!

Am I the only person in the universe who had never heard of this game?!

Mark & Vanessa taught it to us this weekend and it's awesome.  It's my new favorite! 

It's like Yahtzee with chocolate sauce and a shot of espresso.

So even self-proclaimed Yahtzee haters (Courtney W.) will love this game!

All you need are 6 dice and you're ready to go.

 Introducing...Farkle!

Game Summary

Object of the Game: 

To score a minimum of 10,000 points.

Equipment: 

Six, 6-sided dice
A piece of paper and a pencil for keeping score
A copy of the scoring guide (see below)

Number of Players: 

2 or more, but best with 3-8

 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.

Scoring Guide: 

1	100 Points
5	50 Points
Three 1's	1000 Points
Three 2's	200 Points
Three 3's	300 Points
Three 4's	400 Points
Three 5's	500 Points
Three 6's	600 Points
Straight (1-2-3-4-5-6)	3000 Points
3 Pairs	1500 Points

2 Triplets                      2500 Points
Four-of-a-kind             1000 Points
Five-of-a-kind              2000 Points
Six-of-a-kind                3000 Points

Note that scoring combinations only count when made with a single throw. (Example: If a player rolls a 1 and sets it aside and then rolls two 1’s on their next throw, they only score 300 points, not 1000.)
For example, if a player throws 1-2-3-3-3-5, they could do any of the following:

• score three 3s as 300 and then throw the remaining three dice
• score the single 1 as 100 and then throw the remaining five dice
• score the single 5 as 50 and then throw the remaining five dice
• score three 3s, the single 1, and the single 5 for a total of 450 and then throw the remaining die
• score three 3s, the single 1, and the single 5 for a total of 450 and stop, banking 450 points in that turn

This is not an exhaustive list of plays based on that throw, but it covers the most likely ones. If the player continues throwing, as in any of the above cases except the last, they risk farkling and thus losing all accumulated points.

On the other hand, if they score five dice and have only one die to throw, they have a 1 in 3 chance of scoring a single 1 or a single 5, and then having scored all six dice they will have "hot dice" and can throw all six dice again to further increase their score.

Each scoring combination must be achieved in a single throw. For example, if a player has already set aside two individual 1s and then throws a third with the four dice remaining, they do not have a triplet of 1s for a score of 1000 but merely three individual 1s for a score of 300.

Winning: 

The first player to score a total of 10,000 or more points wins, provided that no other players with a remaining turn can exceed that score.

High Scorers:

Highest Scorer:

Runners Up:

 

Chief Farkler: