Yahtzee is a very popular dice game that was first introduced in 1956. In order to play you need 5 dice and a scorecard to keep track of each players score.
The objective is to score points by rolling five dice and try to create different scorecard combinations. Each dice can be rolled up to three times in each turn, and a game consists of thirteen rounds.
The winner is the player that scores the most points.
Make note that Yahtzee is similar to Yatzy, a dice game played in Scandinavian countries, but the rules differ in a couple of ways.
| About Yahtzee | |
|---|---|
| Players | 1+ |
| Playing time | 20-40 minutes |
| Age | 8+ |
| Chance | High |
How to play
In short
- Roll the dice 3 times (or less) in each round and try to get the best possible combination
- Decide what row of the scorecard you want to put the score into
- Play 13 rounds and fill in as many scoreboard boxes as you can and get the highest score to win
Yahtzee scorecard
The scorecard in yahtzee is divided in two parts: A top part that is straightforward combinations of one to six, and a lower part that is a mix of more special combinations.
There are 13 rows to be filled in during the game and three additional for summarizing the score and adding bonus points.
The top part
The top part of the scorecard consists of six boxes for filling in combinations and then two for summarizing and adding the potential bonus points.
- Aces: Any combination of dice with the number 1.
The total sum of all dice with number 1 becomes the score. - Twos: Any combination of dice with the number 2.
The total sum of all dice with number 2 becomes the score. - Threes: Any combination of dice with the number 3.
The total sum of all dice with number 3 becomes the score. - Fours: Any combination of dice with the number 4.
The total sum of all dice with number 4 becomes the score. - Fives: Any combination of dice with the number 5.
The total sum of all dice with number 5 becomes the score. - Sixes: Any combination of dice with the number 6.
The total sum of all dice with number 6 becomes the score.
If the combined score of these six boxes equals 63 points or more, you also get a bonus of 35 points that you add in the bonus box.
Why 63 points to get a bonus you might wonder? That is because it corresponds to getting three-of-a-kind in all the boxes. So if you get three or more dice in each boxes you’re on the safe side.
Tip
To know how you’re doing in regards to the bonus you can easily keep track if you’re “up” or “down” compared to the three-of-a-kind average.
If you score four “fives” you’re “5 up”, while if you only score two “threes” you’re “3 down”. The combination of the two would mean you’re “2 up” (5 – 3 = 2).
The lower part
- Three of a Kind: At least three dice are the same number.
The combined sum of all dice becomes the score. - Four of a Kind: At least four dice are the same number.
The combined sum of all dice becomes the score. - Full House: Two dice of the same number and three of another. Gives 25 points regardless of combination.
- Small Straight: Four dice in sequential order of any kind (1-2-3-4, 2-3-4-5, 3-4-5-6). Gives 30 points regardless of combination.
- Large Straight: Five dice in sequential order of any kind (1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6). Gives 40 points regardless of combination.
- Yahtzee: All dice have the same number. Gives 50 points regardless of combination. Can also get 100 bonus points in case of a second Yahtzee (more info below).
- Chance: Any combination of dice. The sum of all dice becomes the score.
How to get bonus in Yahtzee
In order to get a bonus you need to score a total sum of 63 points or more in the upper section of the scorecard. The bonus is 35 points and is added to the bonus box on the scorecard.
The specific number of 63 corresponds to getting exactly three-of-a-kind for each of the six boxes above. It doesn’t mean you need to get three-of-a-kind for each box (you might even score 0 in one and still get a bonus).
A common way is score four dice in one of the higher numbers in order to be able to score low in the lower numbers. So if you manage to get 4 fours, you can put 0 in the ones box and still get 64 points if you score three-of-a-kind in the rest.
Keep track of the bonus
To easily keep track of how you are doing regarding the bonus, you can count the points above and below the expected score of three dice. So if you score 2 threes you are down by 3 points, but if you then score an extra four (so 4 fours) you are up 1 point since you in total are down 3 and up 4 points.
How to get Yahtzee
A Yahtzee occurs when all five dice show the same number. It doesn’t matter what number it is, so if you get 5 ones or 5 fours it doesn’t matter.
A Yahtzee is worth 50 points when you fill out the Yahtzee box on the scorecard. If you already have filled in a Yahtzee you score an additional Yahtzee bonus of 100 points (but also fill out another box as usual, so no additional throws).
If you already put 0 in the scorecard box for Yahtzee you won’t be able to get any bonus points.
If you get a Yahtzee and already used the scorecard box you must put it in another box. In that case you can play with joker rules.