Smart Box Design announces the release of Farkle, a Palm OS version of the classic dice rolling game. Farkle offers players an opportunity to challenge friends or compete against a variety of “intelligent” computer opponents with a wide range of personalities—from cautious to daring—that will determine the level of risk each opponent is willing to take when deciding just how far to push their luck.

SEATTLE, WA September 13, 2004 -- Smart Box Design announces the release of Farkle, a Palm OS version of the classic dice rolling game. Farkle offers players an opportunity to challenge friends or compete against a variety of “intelligent” computer opponents with a wide range of personalities—from cautious to daring—that will determine the level of risk each opponent is willing to take when deciding just how far to push their luck.

Farkle is an enormously popular game throughout the world. Players roll a set of six dice for points and can continue rolling the dice as long as their roll continues to yield points. Any non-scoring roll is called a Farkle and the player forfeits their turn and any points accumulated during that turn. Players must gauge the risk of rolling again after setting aside scoring dice and decide whether to “bank” their points or risk them for a potentially higher score. Like most games of chance and skill, Farkle’s attraction stems from players hoping to beat the odds and roll a high scoring combination.

Smart Box Design is known for the attention it places on both the playability and design of its games, and Farkle is no exception. There are very few dice games available for Palm OS, and even fewer with the quality and attention to detail that went into creating Farkle. The game, which can be customized to accommodate regional rules, is extremely easy for users to pick up and begin playing upon installation. It is beautifully designed with the rich hues of a felt and wooden game-playing surface. The grain of the wooden game board, green velvet, and transparent red dice all enhance game-play.

Many games feature computerized opponents that are programmed with varying degrees of difficulty (smart, smarter, and smartest). Farkle, rather, comes with a collection of computerized opponents that are programmed to employ different strategies and take various degrees of risk when deciding whether to continue rolling for points—just like different people that Farkle players will encounter as they play the real dice game.

"We are delighted to bring one of the all-time classic dice games to the Palm OS,” said Todd Sherman, Smart Box Design’s president. “Our version of Farkle provides mobile device users with a great game that can be picked up when they only have a few minutes to spare, but user beware—once the game is started, it can be very difficult to put down!"

A free trial version is available at http://www.smartboxdesign.com/farkle.html . It can be purchased for US$14.95.