Yahtzee rules

Quick start

1. Give every player a score sheet. Each player rolls all 5 dice, and the highest total takes the first turn. Turns then pass to the left.
2. On your turn, roll all 5 dice. Keep the ones you like and roll the rest again. You get up to 3 rolls, and you can stop early.
3. Write a score in 1 empty box. The 6 upper boxes count only the dice of one number. Most of the 7 lower boxes score sets and straights.
4. You must fill a box every turn. When your dice fit none of your empty boxes, enter 0 in one of them. Each box is filled only once.
5. A Yahtzee is 5 dice of one number, worth 50 in the Yahtzee box. After that, each later Yahtzee earns a 100-point bonus, and the Joker rules say which box it fills.
6. After 13 turns each, add up your boxes. Add 35 if your upper boxes total 63 or more. The highest grand total wins.

Rule sheet and score sheet

Print the whole game on one page, and a score sheet made for Yahtzee. Both are free PDFs for Letter paper.

Download the rule sheet

PDF, 1 page. The whole game on one page.

Download the score sheet

PDF, 1 page. Laid out for Yahtzee.

Setup

1 or more players, each with their own score sheet. Notes on playing alone and with partners are further down.

You need: 5 standard six-sided dice, shared by all the players.

• Each player also needs a score sheet and something to write with.
• The boxed game comes with a cup for shaking the dice. Rolling by hand works as well.

1. Give each player a score sheet and a pencil. A sheet has 13 boxes: 6 in the upper section and 7 in the lower section.
2. Put the 5 dice in the middle of the table. Everyone uses the same dice.
3. Decide who goes first. Each player rolls all 5 dice, and the highest total starts. Turns then pass to the left.

The 5 dice

Shared by all the players

• One edition of the official rules has the players roll 1 die to see who starts.
• The rules do not cover a tied starting roll. The tied players can roll again.

How to play

A turn has two parts. You roll the dice, up to 3 times. Then you fill in 1 box on your score sheet.

1. Roll all 5 dice

   Start your turn by rolling all 5 dice. Set aside any dice you want to keep. If the roll is already what you want, you can stop and score it.

   • Dice you set aside are called keepers.

2. Roll again, up to 3 rolls in all

   You may roll twice more. On each of those rolls, pick up any or all of the dice and roll them again. That includes dice you kept earlier in the turn. You can stop after any roll. After the third roll you must score.

   • You can change your plan between rolls and roll dice you were saving.

3. Fill in 1 box

   End your turn by writing a score in 1 empty box of your choice. The dice must fit the box to score there. Each box is filled only once, so a game is 13 turns for every player.

   • A roll often fits more than one box. 4-4-4-4-2 can score 18 in 4 of a Kind, 3 of a Kind or Chance, 16 in Fours, or 2 in Twos.
   • You may take a lower score than the dice allow, to keep a better box open for later.

4. Enter a zero when nothing fits

   You must fill a box on every turn. If your dice fit none of your empty boxes, write 0 in any one of them. You may also take a 0 on purpose, to save a box your dice do fit.

   • A 0 uses that box up for the rest of the game.
   • A 0 in the Yahtzee box means no 100-point Yahtzee bonus for the rest of the game.

5. Score the upper section

   The upper boxes are Aces, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives and Sixes. In each, add up only the dice showing that number. Three 5s score 15 in Fives. A total of 63 or more across the 6 boxes earns a 35-point bonus.

   • Aces are the 1s.
   • Three of every number adds up to exactly 63. Any mix that reaches 63 earns the bonus, so four 6s can make up for only two 5s.

6. Score the lower section

   In the lower section, 3 of a Kind, 4 of a Kind and Chance score the total of all 5 dice. Full House scores 25, Small Straight 30, Large Straight 40 and Yahtzee 50. The score table shows the dice each box needs.

   • A small straight is 4 dice in sequence: 1-2-3-4, 2-3-4-5 or 3-4-5-6. The fifth die can be anything.
   • A large straight is all 5 dice in sequence: 1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6.
   • A full house is 3 dice of one number and 2 of another. Five of a kind is not a full house, except as a Joker in the next step.
   • 3 of a Kind and 4 of a Kind count every die, including the ones that do not match.
   • Chance takes any roll. It is the place for a turn that fits nothing else.

   3 of a Kind

   

   Scores 21, the total of all 5 dice

   4 of a Kind

   

   Scores 18, the total of all 5 dice

   Full House

   

   Scores 25

   Small Straight

   

   Scores 30

   Large Straight

   

   Scores 40

   Yahtzee

   

   Scores 50

   Chance

   

   Scores 18, the total of all 5 dice

7. Score an extra Yahtzee

   A Yahtzee rolled after your Yahtzee box is filled follows the Joker rules. If that box holds 50, you also earn a 100-point bonus. Score the roll in the upper box for its number. If that is filled, use any empty lower box. If those are filled too, enter 0 in an empty upper box.

   • If your Yahtzee box holds a 0, there is no bonus. You still fill a box by the Joker rules.
   • In the upper box, the roll scores the total of the 5 dice.
   • In a lower box, the roll scores as if it fit: 25 in Full House, 30 in Small Straight, 40 in Large Straight, and the total of the 5 dice in 3 of a Kind, 4 of a Kind or Chance.
   • The bonus is yours even when the roll itself has to be entered as a 0.
   • There is no limit on bonuses. Mark each one on your sheet as you earn it.
   • Editions of the official rules differ on the lower boxes. One sends the roll to 3 of a Kind or 4 of a Kind before any other lower box. The variants section has the details.
   • If your Yahtzee box is still empty, the Joker rules do not apply. Score the roll like any other, usually as 50 in the Yahtzee box.

   Fours is empty

   

   Score 20 in Fours

   Fours is filled

   

   Pick any empty lower box, such as Large Straight for 40

   Fours and every lower box are filled

   

   Enter 0 in an empty upper box

8. Add up at the end

   The game ends when every player has filled all 13 boxes. Add your 6 upper boxes, plus the 35-point bonus if they total 63 or more. Add your 7 lower boxes, plus 100 for each Yahtzee bonus. The two sections together make your grand total.

Example: 1 turn, 3 rolls

Your first roll is 6, 6, 3, 4, 1. You keep the two 6s, thinking of the Sixes box, and roll the other 3 dice. They come up 3, 4 and 5. Now 3-4-5-6 is a small straight, worth 30, so you change your plan. With 1 roll left, you keep 3-4-5-6 and roll the spare 6, hoping for a 2 to make a large straight. That 6 was a die you had kept, and rolling it again is allowed. It comes up 1. The 4 dice in sequence are untouched, so you write 30 in Small Straight.

First roll

Keep the two 6s

Going into the second roll

3 dice are rolled again

After the second roll

3-4-5-6 is a small straight

Going into the third roll

One of the kept 6s is rolled again

Final dice

Scored as 30 in Small Straight

Scoring

You fill 1 box each turn and add everything up at the end. The upper section has 6 boxes and the lower section has 7. Two bonuses can be added on top.

• The 6 examples in the upper table are three of each number. Together they score 63, the total the bonus needs.
• When the upper box for a later Yahtzee is already filled, you choose which empty lower box takes the roll.
• The 13 boxes and the upper bonus can add up to 375 at most. A Yahtzee on every turn adds 12 bonuses of 100, for a highest possible score of 1,575.

The player with the highest grand total wins. The official rules do not say how to break a tie.

Each player keeps their own score sheet, also called a score card, and writes 1 score at the end of every turn. Mark each Yahtzee bonus when you earn it, so none is missed in the adding up.

Scorekeeper

A 13-box card for each player. It adds the 35-point upper bonus at 63 or more and 100 for each Yahtzee bonus, then shows the grand total. It works in this browser, keeps the game if the page reloads, and needs no account.

Other ways to play

House rules and other versions

Free choice for a later Yahtzee

A simpler version lets you put a later Yahtzee in any empty box you like. It still counts as a Joker only when the upper box for its number is already filled. If that box is empty, the roll scores 0 in Full House or either straight box.

3 of a Kind and 4 of a Kind first

One edition of the official rules ranks the lower boxes for a later Yahtzee. When the upper box for its number is filled, the roll goes in 3 of a Kind or 4 of a Kind. Only when both of those are filled can it go in Chance or another lower box, scoring as normal for that box, such as 25 in Full House.

Yahtzee as a full house

Some households score any five of a kind as a full house for 25, whatever else is on the sheet. The official rules ask for 3 dice of one number and 2 of another, and allow a Yahtzee in Full House only as a Joker.

One die to see who starts

One edition of the official rules has the players roll 1 die to see who starts, in place of all 5.

A series of games

Play up to 6 games and add each player’s grand totals together. The highest total over all the games wins the series.

Rule questions

Words used in Yahtzee

Score card

Another name for the score sheet. Each player fills in its 13 boxes over the game.

Upper section

The 6 boxes named Aces, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives and Sixes. Each counts only the dice showing its number.

Lower section

The 7 boxes named 3 of a Kind, 4 of a Kind, Full House, Small Straight, Large Straight, Yahtzee and Chance.

Aces

The 1s. The Aces box scores 1 point for each die showing 1.

Keepers

Dice you set aside between rolls. You can still roll them again later in the same turn.

3 of a Kind and 4 of a Kind

At least 3 dice, or at least 4 dice, showing the same number. Both boxes score the total of all 5 dice.

Full house

3 dice of one number and 2 of another, such as 5-5-5-2-2. It scores 25.

Small straight

4 dice in sequence, such as 3-4-5-6. It scores 30.

Large straight

All 5 dice in sequence, 1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6. It scores 40.

Yahtzee

5 dice showing the same number. It scores 50 in the Yahtzee box.

Chance

A box that takes any roll and scores the total of all 5 dice.

Upper section bonus

35 points for scoring 63 or more in the upper section.

Yahtzee bonus

100 points for each Yahtzee you roll after scoring 50 in the Yahtzee box.

Bonus chips

Counters that come with some sets. You take one for each Yahtzee bonus, and each is worth 100 points.

Joker

A later Yahtzee used in a lower box as if it fit: 25 in Full House, 30 in Small Straight, 40 in Large Straight. The Joker rules say which box it must go in.

Grand total

Your upper section total plus your lower section total, with both kinds of bonus included.

What you need

• The Yahtzee gameThe boxed game has the 5 dice, a shaker cup and a pad of score cards.Find it on Amazon (The Yahtzee game, opens in a new tab)
• 5 six-sided diceAny 5 standard dice work with a printed score sheet.Find it on Amazon (5 six-sided dice, opens in a new tab)
• Yahtzee score padsRefill pads for when the score cards in the box run out.Find it on Amazon (Yahtzee score pads, opens in a new tab)

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