Yahtzee Rules: How to Play, Step by Step

Yahtzee is a trademark of Hasbro. This site is not affiliated with Hasbro; our free game is called Yacht Dice.

What you need

• Five six-sided dice. Everyone shares the same five dice. (More on how many dice are in Yahtzee, with the odds.)
• A score card and a pencil for each player. No card? Print our free Yahtzee score card.
• A dice cup if you have one. It is optional.
• One or more players. You can play alone and try to beat your best score.

The goal

Score the most points after 13 rounds. Your score card has 13 boxes, and each turn you fill exactly one of them. So the game always lasts 13 turns per player.

Each box wants a different pattern of dice, like three of a kind or five in a row. The skill is choosing which dice to keep and which box to use.

A turn: roll, hold, reroll

1. Roll all five dice.
2. Hold any dice you want to keep by setting them aside. Reroll the rest. You can hold none, some or all of them.
3. Roll a third time if you want. Again, hold what you like and reroll the rest. A die you held after the first roll can be rerolled on the third roll.
4. Fill one open box on your score card. You must fill a box every turn, even if it scores 0.

You may stop after one or two rolls. Three rolls is the most, not the rule. Each box can be used only once per game.

You must always score. If nothing fits, you write 0 in a box of your choice. Players call this a “scratch.”

The upper section and the 35-point bonus

The top half of the card has six boxes: Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives and Sixes. In each one you add up only the dice that show that number. The other dice don't count.

The upper bonus: if your six top boxes add up to 63 or more, you get 35 bonus points. The number 63 is three of each number: 3 + 6 + 9 + 12 + 15 + 18. Four 6s or four 5s can make up for a weak box elsewhere.

The lower section

The bottom half has seven boxes. Some score the total of all five dice. Others score a fixed number of points.

Here is one real roll for each box:

Straights don't need to be in order on the table. 4, 1, 3, 2, 6 is still a small straight, because 1-2-3-4 is there. A large straight also counts as a small straight if you would rather score it there.

Yahtzee bonus and Joker rules

A Yahtzee is five dice the same. The first one you score in the Yahtzee box is worth 50 points.

Extra Yahtzees earn a bonus. If you already have 50 in the Yahtzee box, every extra Yahtzee gives you 100 bonus points. There is no limit. You still have to fill one box with those dice, using the Joker rules:

1. If the matching upper box is open, you must score it there. Five 4s go in Fours, for 20.
2. If that box is already full, score it in any open lower box. Here it counts as a “joker” at full value: Full house 25, Small straight 30, Large straight 40. Three of a kind, Four of a kind and Chance score the total of the dice.
3. If the matching upper box and all the lower boxes are full, you must write 0 in an open upper box.

What if your Yahtzee box has a 0? Then extra Yahtzees earn no bonus. In our game, Yacht Dice, the same Joker placement still applies. Some tables play this differently, so agree before you start.

Check any roll against the Joker rules, and work out the upper bonus: Yahtzee bonus rules.

Scratching (0) and tips for beginners

Sometimes every open box would score badly. Then you scratch: you write 0 in one box. Pick the box that costs you the least.

• Go for the upper bonus. Three of each number gets you there. Early in the game, three or four 5s or 6s are worth keeping for the top section.
• Use Chance as a safety net. Save it for a bad turn, and use it when your dice add up high.
• Scratch Ones first. It is worth at most 5 points, so a 0 there costs little.
• Scratch Yahtzee late. Near the end of the game, if you still have no Yahtzee, a 0 there is often the cheapest choice.
• Chase straights with care. Holding 2-3-4-5 gives you two numbers that complete a large straight.

What to keep, roll by roll: Yahtzee strategy.

Winning

After 13 rounds, add up your score card:

1. The upper total, plus 35 if it is 63 or more.
2. The lower total, plus 100 for each Yahtzee bonus.
3. Both sections together make the grand total.

The player with the highest grand total wins. Playing alone, try to beat your last score.

House rules and a little history

Many families play a little differently. Agree on these before the first roll:

• Free choice Joker. An extra Yahtzee may go in any box. It counts as a joker (Full house, straights) only if its matching upper box is already full. Otherwise those boxes score 0.
• No Joker rule. Some tables give the 100 bonus but treat the dice as ordinary dice, so a Yahtzee can't fill Full house or a straight.
• Triple Yahtzee. A spin-off from 1972. Each player's card has three columns of the usual 13 boxes, and each turn you fill one open box in any column. Scores in the second column count double and in the third column triple, so the best rolls belong in the third column.
• Outdoors or with cards. Yard Yahtzee uses giant dice on the lawn; card Yahtzee swaps the dice for playing cards.

History. Yahtzee is based on an older dice game called Yacht, which was in print by 1938. Edwin S. Lowe began selling Yahtzee in 1956. It added the upper bonus, Three of a kind, the Small straight and the Yahtzee bonus. Yacht itself is a public-domain game, which is why our free version is called Yacht Dice.

Play it here

Want to try it now? Play Yacht Dice free in your browser, with big dice and no sign-up. It uses the rules on this page, including the bonuses and Joker rules, and it adds up every box for you. New to the game? Start with the guided lessons.