Yahtzee Rules: How to Play

What you need

• Five six-sided dice
• A Yahtzee score sheet (print one free here)
• One or more players. Solo works fine, you're just playing for a high score.

The goal

Score the most points after 13 rounds. Each round you fill in exactly one of the 13 boxes on your score sheet, so by the end of the game every box is filled, with points or with a zero.

How a turn works

1. Roll all five dice.
2. Keep what you like. Set aside any dice you want to keep and reroll the rest. You can also pick kept dice back up and reroll them.
3. Roll again. You get up to three rolls per turn in total. You can stop early if you like what you have.
4. Score it. Choose one empty box and write in the score. If your dice don't fit any open box, you have to put a zero in one.

Upper section scoring

The upper section has six boxes, one for each number. Add up only the dice showing that number.

The upper section bonus

If your six upper boxes add up to 63 or more, you get a 35-point bonus. 63 is exactly three of each number (3 + 6 + 9 + 12 + 15 + 18), so any time you score three or more of a number you're on track. Scoring four 6s or four 5s gives you slack for a weak Ones or Twos box.

Lower section scoring

A few details that settle a lot of arguments:

• The fifth die doesn't matter for a small straight. 1-2-3-4-6 is a small straight.
• Three or Four of a Kind scores all five dice, not just the matching ones. 5-5-5-6-2 in Three of a Kind is 23.
• A large straight can also be scored as a small straight if you'd rather (for 30).

Yahtzee bonus and Joker rules

Rolled a second Yahtzee? Here's what happens:

• If your Yahtzee box already has 50, you get a 100-point Yahtzee bonus for every extra Yahtzee. Mark it in the bonus area of the score sheet.
• If your Yahtzee box has a zero, there's no bonus. Sorry.

Either way, you still have to fill a box with that roll, and the Joker rules decide which:

1. If the matching upper box is open (for example, Sixes for five 6s), you must score it there.
2. If that upper box is already filled, score it in any open lower box. Full House, Small Straight, and Large Straight count at full value (25, 30, 40) even though the dice don't technically form them.
3. If the upper box and every lower box are filled, you must put a zero in an open upper box.

Ending the game and winning

After 13 rounds, add up your score:

1. Upper section total, plus 35 if it's 63 or more
2. Lower section total
3. 100 for each Yahtzee bonus

Highest grand total wins. Playing solo? A score above 200 is solid, and 250 is a great game. The highest possible score is 1,575, which needs thirteen Yahtzees in a row. Don't hold your breath.

Playing with more people

With multiple players, everyone takes full turns in order: three rolls, then score. Each player has their own column on the score sheet. You can play the dice-and-paper version at the kitchen table, or play Yahtzee online with friends from different phones with a room code.