Yahtzee Dice Game: Rules for How to Play

Setup

Roll a die to see who starts the game. The game doesn’t specifically say, but I am assuming the player that rolls the highest number starts the game. Some older versions of the rules have you roll all five dice and the total determines who starts the game. Play moves clockwise.
Write down each player’s name on the score sheet in the order of play.

How to Play Yahtzee

To begin each of your turns, you will roll all five dice. After you roll the five dice, you will look at what numbers you rolled. You will compare the numbers you rolled to the different scoring options that you haven’t scored yet. See the Scoring Options section below for more details.

Depending on what you rolled you may want to keep some of your dice and re-roll other dice. You can keep as many of the dice as you want up to the maximum of all five dice. You could also choose to keep none of the dice. If you choose to keep all five dice, you will immediately score your dice. See the Scoring section below for more details.

First roll in Yahtzee — Here is the player’s first roll. As they rolled two sixes, they decide to keep those two dice and re-roll the rest of the dice.

If you decided to re-roll at least one of the dice, you will re-roll all of the dice that you chose not to keep. You will look at the new numbers you rolled and compare them to the scoring combinations and the dice you kept from the previous roll. Once again you will choose which dice you want to keep, and which ones you want to re-roll. You can choose to re-roll dice that you kept after the first roll. If you want to keep all of your dice, you can end your turn by scoring your dice. See the Scoring section below for more details.

Second roll of the dice — In their second roll, this player rolled an additional six that they decided to keep. They will re-roll the other two dice.

You will then get one last roll. Roll all of the dice that you don’t want to keep. After this roll you must keep all of your dice. You will have to figure out how you want to score the dice.

Third roll — After their third roll this player has rolled four sixes and a five. They will now decide how they want to score the dice.

The player to your left/clockwise then takes their turn. You will keep playing until each player has taken thirteen turns.

Scoring

After you have finished rolling the dice on your turn, you will choose how you want to score your dice. There are thirteen different scoring options in Yahtzee. You must score one and only one combination each turn. You can only choose a scoring combination that you haven’t already scored this game. Players can complete the different scoring combinations in any order. Details on how to score each combination are detailed below.

Sometimes your dice roll may not work with the available scoring options. In this case you will choose one of the scoring combinations, and write a zero in the corresponding space on your section of the score sheet. Once you score zero points for a combination, you cannot score the combination for the rest of the game.

Choosing a section to score zero in — This player was unable to roll a combination that allows them to score points. They decided to place a 0 in the aces section.

Upper Section

In the upper section of the score sheet are a list of numbers. When you choose to score one of these sections, you will look for dice that match the number of the section you chose. You will add up the points on each of the dice that match the number you chose to score. For example if you rolled three twos, you will score six points (3 x 2).

Scoring four sixes — This player rolled four sixes. They decide to score it in the sixes section. They will score 24 points (6 x 4).

After you have filled in your score for all six numbers, you will total the points you scored in the upper section. If you score over 63 points total between all of the numbers, you receive a 35 point bonus. In some versions of the rules you can score exactly 63 points and receive the bonus, while others say that you have to score more than 63 points.

Earning the Upper Section Bonus — After scoring for each of the numbers, this player totals up the points they earned. They scored 68 points, which entitles them to the 35 bonus points. They score a total of 103 points from the Upper Section.

Lower Section

3 of a Kind

To score three of a kind, you need to roll the same number on at least three of the dice. To determine your score, you will add up the value of all five dice you rolled.

Rolling Three of a Kind — This player rolled three threes. They will score 16 points from their dice in the 3 of a Kind section.

If you roll a 4 of a Kind and have already scored that section, you can score it as a 3 of a Kind.

4 of a Kind

You have to roll at least four of the same number in order to score a 4 of a kind. Your score is equal to the value of all five dice.

Rolling Four of a Kind — This player rolled four twos. The player scores a total of 14 points from their dice in the 4 of a Kind section.

Full House

A Full House consists of three dice of one number and two dice of another number. For example you could roll three fours and two ones. A Full House is worth 25 points no matter what numbers you roll on the dice.

Small Straight

To roll a Small Straight you need to roll four numbers in numerical order. For example you could roll 2, 3, 4, 5. A Small Straight is worth 30 points no matter what numbers you roll on the dice.

If you have already scored a large straight, you can score a large straight as a small straight.

Large Straight

A Large Straight consists of all five dice being in numerical order. For example you could either roll 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The Large Straight is worth 40 points no matter what you roll on the dice.

Chance

The Chance scoring combination is unique because it has no rules. For this combination you score points equal to the values of all of the numbers you roll on the dice.

Yahtzee

Should you roll five of the same number, you have rolled a Yahtzee. A Yahtzee is worth 50 points no matter what number you rolled.

If a player rolls more than one Yahtzee in a game, you can score bonus points. If you roll a Yahtzee after you scored a Yahtzee in a previous round, place an X in the Yahtzee bonus space. You will score 100 bonus points at the end of the game. In older versions of Yahtzee you receive a chip for each Yahtzee you roll after your first Yahtzee. Each chip is worth 100 points at the end of the game. If you previously scored zero points for the Yahtzee section, you cannot receive the Yahtzee bonus.

Scoring the Yahtzee Bonus — On a previous turn this player scored 50 points for rolling a Yahtzee. The player has rolled another Yahtzee so they will place a mark in the Yahtzee Bonus section. They will score 100 points for the mark at the end of the game.

You will then score points for another combination with the dice you rolled. You should first look at the corresponding number in the upper section. For example if you rolled a Yahtzee with fours, you should look at the four section. If you haven’t already scored that section, you should add up the the value of all of the dice and place it in the corresponding section.

When you have already filled in the corresponding number, look at the 3 of a Kind and 4 of a Kind sections. If one of these haven’t been scored yet, you should score one of them based on all five dice you rolled.

Finally if those combinations have already been scored, you can choose any combination that you haven’t already scored and score it normally. Some versions of the rules don’t specify what options you can chose, but older versions of the rules say that you have to score one of the combinations in the lower section. If you have filled in all of the options in the lower section, you enter zero in one of the upper sections. For example say you roll six sixes. If the above combinations have all been filled in, you can use the sixes to fill in the Full House (25 points), Large Straight (40 points), or Small Straight (30 points).

Winning Yahtzee

The game ends after all players have played thirteen turns. The players will compare their scores. The player that scores the most points wins the game.

Final score in Yahtzee — This player has scored a total of 401 points in the game.

Components

5 Dice
Dice Shaker
Score Sheets
Instructions

Year: 1956 | Publisher: E.S. Lowe, Hasbro, Milton Bradley | Designer: Edwin S. Lowe

Genres: Dice, Family

Ages: 8+ | Number of Players: 2+ | Length of Game: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: Moderate-High

For more board and card game rules/how to plays, check out our complete alphabetical list of card and board game rules posts.

Written By:

Eric Mortensen

Eric Mortensen is an owner and head writer on Geeky Hobbies since 2014. He is an avid board game player and collector with over 3,000 board and card games in his collection. Since 2014 he has written more than 1,100 board game how to play guides.