How To Win Yahtzee

How to Win at Yahtzee The roll of the dice is all up to chance, but winning Yahtzee doesn't have to be. There is some strategy you can apply to the game. There are two main strategic angles: Get the highest number of points available and get enough points in the upper level to score a bonus. To minimize the frequency of 'zero' points (incomplete Yahtzee hands)on your score card, this is my conclusion: First, try to get a Yahtzee. Next, go for a four-of-a-kind. Then (in descending order) try to get a large straight, a full house, a small stright, then a three-of-a-kind. You want to try to get the harder rolls first.

Yahtzee Rules

The objective of YAHTZEE is to get as many points as possible by rolling five dice and getting certain combinations of dice.

Time

Gameplay

In each turn a player may throw the dice up to three times. A player doesn't have to roll all five dice on the second and third throw of a round, he may put as many dice as he wants to the side and only throw the ones that don't have the numbers he's trying to get. For example, a player throws and gets 1,3,3,4,6. He decides he want to try for the large straight, 1,2,3,4,5. So, he puts 1,3,4 to the side and only throws 3 and 6 again, hoping to get 2 and 5.

In this game you click on the dice you want to keep. They will be moved down and will not be thrown the next time you press the 'Roll Dice' button. If you decide after the second throw in a turn that you don't want to keep the same dice before the third throw then you can click them again and they will move back to the table and be thrown in the third throw.

Upper section combinations

  • Ones: Get as many ones as possible.
  • Twos: Get as many twos as possible.
  • Threes: Get as many threes as possible.
  • Fours: Get as many fours as possible.
  • Fives: Get as many fives as possible.
  • Sixes: Get as many sixes as possible.

For the six combinations above the score for each of them is the sum of dice of the right kind. E.g. if you get 1,3,3,3,5 and you choose Threes you will get 3*3 = 9 points. The sum of all the above combinations is calculated and if it is 63 or more, the player will get a bonus of 35 points. On average a player needs three of each to reach 63, but it is not required to get three of each exactly, it is perfectly OK to have five sixes, and zero ones for example, as long as the sum is 63 or more the bonus will be awarded.

Lower section combinations

  • Three of a kind: Get three dice with the same number. Points are the sum all dice (not just the three of a kind).
  • Four of a kind: Get four dice with the same number. Points are the sum all dice (not just the four of a kind).
  • Full house: Get three of a kind and a pair, e.g. 1,1,3,3,3 or 3,3,3,6,6. Scores 25 points.
  • Small straight: Get four sequential dice, 1,2,3,4 or 2,3,4,5 or 3,4,5,6. Scores 30 points.
  • Large straight: Get five sequential dice, 1,2,3,4,5 or 2,3,4,5,6. Scores 40 points.
  • Chance: You can put anything into chance, it's basically like a garbage can when you don't have anything else you can use the dice for. The score is simply the sum of the dice.
  • YAHTZEE: Five of a kind. Scores 50 points. You can optionally get multiple Yahtzees, see below for details.

Multiple Yahtzees

The rules around multiple Yahtzees are a bit complex. There are a couple of different cases:

  1. You already have a Yahtzee: You get a 100 bonus points in the Yahtzee box, but you also have a joker, which means that you can choose another move for the Yahtzee you just got. If the number you got yahtzees with has not been filled out in the upper section, then you must choose that. E.g. if you get an additional Yahtzee with 2's, and you haven't filled out the 2's in the upper section then you must choose that, and get 10 points for it. If the upper section box is already filled then you can choose any of the lower region boxes, and they will be scored as normal. Yahtzee is a superset of 3 of a kind, 4 of a kind, full house and chance, but you can also choose small or large straight and will get the normal 30 and 40 points for those.
  2. You've already put 0 in the Yahtzee box: In this case you get no 100 point bonus, but you do get a joker, and can choose your move following the rules described above for jokers.

Multiplayer

After years of only playing against the computer, you can now start playing against other people from all over the world. Click the 'Multiplayer' button next to your avatar and choose a player name to connect. Once connected, you can challenge or be challenged by other players.

Note: To keep things simple and even as possible, all multiplayer games allow multiple Yahtzees.

Strategy tips

Try to get the bonus. Focus on getting good throws with fives and sixes, then it won't matter if you put 0 in the ones or twos. You can always put in 0 for a combination if you don't have it, even if you have some other combination. E.g. if you had 2,3,4,5,6 and the only things you had left were Ones and Sixes, then it would be better to put 0 in Ones than to put only 6 in Sixes.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the game. If you have any questions or comments, send them to admin@cardgames.io.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of Yahtzee is to Gain points by rolling dice combinations, player with the highest total score after 13 rounds wins.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1+

MATERIALS: five dice, dice cup, 10 bonus chips, score pad.

TYPE OF GAME: Sequence Dice Game

AUDIENCE: Kids and adults

OBJECTIVE

How

Yahtzee consists of thirteen rounds. Each player gets a turn per round. On your turn roll your dice and score the roll on the corresponding round, i.e. on round 5 score your dice in the “Game #5” column on the score card. The objective of the game is to collect as many points as possible through dice combinations rolled. In multiplayer, the player with the greatest total points at the end of the game is the winner.

SET UP

Each player gets a score card. To determine the first player, each player rolls all five dice. The person who rolled the highest total goes first and play moves left.

How to Play Yahtzee

Each turn gives a player 3 opportunities to roll the dice in order to score the highest number of points from dice combinations. After 3 rolls, mark your score or a zero on your score card in the corresponding column. You may stop after the first roll if you are satisfied with the outcome.

First Roll: Roll all five dice. Either you may stop your turn here and mark your points or set aside dice which are ‘keepers’ and roll again.

Second Roll: You may roll any or all of the dice from the first roll. You need not declare which combination you are attempting to roll for as it may change after the second roll. After the second roll you may stop and score yourself or roll again.

Third Roll: Again, you may roll and or all of the five dice. After this roll you must score yourself or mark a zero. After marking your score, your turn is over, and play moves left.

SCORING

On the score card there are 13 columns which correspond to the 13 rounds in each game. On your turn you must fill in a box, even if you score yourself zero. The score card is separated into 2 sections: Upper Section and Lower Section.

Upper Section

Aces (Ones): Total of Aces

Twos: Total of Twos

Threes: Total of Threes

Fours: Total of Fours

Fives: Total of Fives

Sixes: Total of Sixes

How to Score Upper Section:

If you roll, for example: three 3’s, one 2, and one 4 you can score that as a 9 in the threes box, a 2 in the twos box, and a 4 in the fours box for a total of 15 points.

The objective of the Upper Section is to score, by any combination, 63 points in order to earn a 35 point bonus.

Lower Section

3 of a Kind: Total of all five dice. Score only in this section if you roll 3 or more of the same number dice.

Alternative Scoring: You can score each number individually in the upper section or score the total in the chance section.

4 of a Kind: Total of all five dice. Score only in this section if you roll 4 or more of the same number dice.

Alternative Scoring: You can also score the total in the 3 of a kind box or the chance box. You may also divide the numbers up and score them in the upper section individually.

Full House: 25 points. One scores a Full House when three of one number and two dice of another. Full Houses are always 25 points no matter which numbers compose it.

Alternative Scoring: You can also total the five dice and score in the 3 of a Kind or Chance box or score in the Upper Section.

Small Straight: 30 points. Small straights can be scored with any four sequential dice. For example, if you roll a 2, 3, 4, 5 and any other number that is considered a small straight. No matter where the straight starts or ends, it is always 30 points, as long as it fits the small straight criteria.

Alternative Scoring: Replace small straight score in Chance box as opposed to small straight box. Or, distribute score in the Upper Section.

Large Straight: 40 points. Large straights can be scored with any five sequential dice. For example, rolling a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and any other number is considered a large straight. As with the small straight, regardless if the sequence starts with a one or a two, it is still scored as 40 points.

Alternative Scoring: Large straights can also be scored in the small straight box, chance box, or in the Upper Section.

Yahtzee!: 50 points. You can only score in the Yahtzee box if you roll five dice of the same number or a 5 of a kind. Each following Yahtzee rolled earns you a bonus.

Chance: Total of all five dice. This is a free for all box which can be used when you are unable to score in other categories and do not want to score a zero.

Yahtzee Bonus: After rolling one Yahtzee, the next Yahtzee earns you a 100-point bonus. Grab a bonus chip and mark a check in the Yahtzee bonus box. After, fill in one of the 13 boxes according to Joker Rules (described below). There is no limit to the amount of Yahtzee bonuses you can earn. However, if you have marked a zero in the Yahtzee box already, you can not earn Yahtzee bonuses. Fill in one of the 13 boxes in accordance with Joker Rules.

Joker Rules

With

Score the total of the five rolled dice in the Upper Section. If those are filled, score in the Lower Section in accordance with point values defined above, i.e. Small Straight is 30 points.

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Example of Joker Rules: You roll five 5’s, but you have already marked zero in your Yahtzee box. You have also scored your 5’s in the Upper Section as well, Joker Rules allow you to open any box in the Lower Section for scoring that isn’t already occupied. For example, you may mark 40 in the Large Straight Box if it is open.

Finishing the Game

After all 13 columns have been filled for each player the game ends. Now, each player totals their score in the following way:

Upper Section: Mark the total sum of your Upper Section score in the corresponding total score box. If you score 63-points or more, add in the 35-point bonus before marking your total score.

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Lower Section: Mark the total sum of the Lower Section score in the corresponding total score box. Add 100-points for each check in the Yahtzee bonus box.

How To Win Yahtzee

Grand Total: Sum of Upper and Lower Sections. This is your total score for that game. The player with the highest total wins.

Single Player

The same rules apply, however, no group is necessary. Challenge yourself to beat your previous scores in solo play.

Variations

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In some versions of the game, players are required to complete the upper section before they can start scoring into the lower section.

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