How Many Dice Are in Yahtzee?
Quick answer
There are five dice in Yahtzee. They are ordinary six-sided dice, numbered 1 to 6, and every player uses the same five. On your turn you roll them up to three times.
Rolling all five the same, a Yahtzee, happens 1 in 1,296 rolls. With three rolls it is about 1 in 22 turns.
Yahtzee uses five ordinary six-sided dice
- One set for the table. Players take turns with the same five dice.
- Up to 3 rolls a turn. Keep the dice you like, reroll the rest. You may stop after one or two rolls.
- A cup is optional. It keeps the dice on the table, but a gentle throw by hand is fine.
Lost a die? Borrow one from another game. Size and color do not matter, as long as each die has six sides numbered 1 to 6.
Roll five dice and watch your Yahtzee chances change
Hold dice by tapping them, then roll again. Under the dice you will see the exact chance of finishing with five of a kind from where you are, if you keep the best dice on every roll.
Roll the five dice
Dice: 5, 1, 6, 3, 3.
Roll 1 of 3: 5, 1, 6, 3, 3. Chance of a Yahtzee from here, with two rolls left: 2.91%.
Five dice give 7,776 possible rolls
Each die has 6 faces, so five dice can land 6 × 6 × 6 × 6 × 6 = 7,776 ways. Only 6 of those are a Yahtzee (all 1s, all 2s, and so on up to all 6s). That makes it 1 in 1,296 on a single roll.
Rerolls help a lot. Keeping your biggest group each time, the chance of a Yahtzee is 1.26% within two rolls and 4.60% within three. Over a 13-turn game you have many tries, which is why Yahtzees are rare but not unusual.
| Box | Rolls that make it | Chance in one roll |
|---|---|---|
| Three of a kind | 1,656 of 7,776 | 21.3% |
| Four of a kind | 156 of 7,776 | 2.0% |
| Full house | 300 of 7,776 | 3.9% |
| Small straight | 1,200 of 7,776 | 15.4% |
| Large straight | 240 of 7,776 | 3.1% |
| Yahtzee | 6 of 7,776 | 0.1% |
Each count above comes from scoring all 7,776 rolls with our Yahtzee scoring code. A Four of a kind roll also counts as a Three of a kind, and a Large straight also counts as a Small straight.
A few spin-offs use more dice, the classic game uses five
- Triple Yahtzee uses the same five dice with a three-column score card. See Triple Yahtzee rules.
- Challenge Yahtzee (1974) used 25 dice so everyone could play on the same roll.
- Word Yahtzee (1978) used seven dice with letters instead of numbers.
- Power Yahtzee (2007) added a sixth “Power” die.
Playing outside? Big foam or wooden dice work the same way: see Yard Yahtzee. No dice at all? You can play with a deck of cards or play Yacht Dice online.
Yahtzee is a trademark of Hasbro. This site is not affiliated with Hasbro; our free game is called Yacht Dice.
If you like Yacht Dice, try
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Canasta’s big-family cousin: play your hand, then pick up your foot.
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Rules, the list of all 10 phases and free score sheets.
Questions people ask
How many dice do you need to play Yahtzee?
5 dice. They are ordinary 6-sided dice, and all players share the same set, taking turns.
How many times can you roll the dice in Yahtzee?
Up to 3 times per turn. After the first and second roll you may keep any dice and reroll the rest. You can also stop early.
What are the odds of rolling a Yahtzee?
In one roll of 5 dice it is 1 in 1,296 (0.077%). Using all 3 rolls and keeping your biggest group each time, it rises to 4.60%, about 1 in 22 turns.
Can I play Yahtzee with regular dice?
Yes. Any five standard six-sided dice work, from a board game or a dollar store. A cup for shaking them is nice but optional.
Do any Yahtzee versions use more dice?
A few spin-offs do. Challenge Yahtzee used 25 dice and Word Yahtzee used seven letter dice. Power Yahtzee added a sixth "Power" die. The classic game uses five.