How to Play Yahtzee

A beginner-friendly guide to rolling, holding dice, and choosing a score. Learn the turn first, then use the scorecard to make thirteen choices count.

Yahtzee is a dice game for one or more players. On your turn, roll five dice up to three times, keeping any dice you want between rolls. Then enter the result in one empty box on your score sheet. The aim is to finish all thirteen categories with the highest total you can make.

Take your first turn in three steps

Roll five dice: At the start of your turn, roll all five dice. Look for matching numbers, a run of consecutive numbers, or a mix that could lead to a useful category.
Hold dice and reroll: Set aside any dice you want to keep and roll the others. You can change which dice you hold before the third roll, and you may stop early if you already like the result.
Choose a score category: After no more than three rolls, choose one open score box. Record its score, even if the category scores zero, then begin the next turn.

You do not need to learn every scoring detail before you roll. Start by spotting repeated numbers: three or more of one number may fit a kind category. A sequence such as 2, 3, 4, 5 can become a Small Straight. If the dice do not make a special pattern, Ones through Sixes and Chance may still give you a useful score.

What to do between rolls

After your first roll, decide which goal is most useful among your open boxes. Hold the dice that already help that goal and reroll the rest. You may change your mind on the next roll: a die you held can be rolled later, and a die you rerolled can then be kept.

Imagine rolling 2, 3, 4, 5, 5. Keeping 2, 3, 4, and one 5 preserves a four-number run for a Small Straight, while rerolling the other 5 gives a chance at a 1 or 6 to form a Large Straight. You could instead keep both 5s and try for more Fives or a matching group. Neither choice is always right; compare the categories still open on your sheet and decide which score you need most.

If the first roll is already a Yahtzee or another valuable result, stop rolling and record it. Extra rolls are an option, not a requirement. Avoid risking a category you already like just because another roll remains.

Learn the score sheet

The upper section has six boxes: Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, and Sixes. Add the dice showing the number named by the box. Three 4s score 12 in Fours; the other two dice do not add to that upper score. Reach 63 points across the upper boxes to earn a 35-point bonus.

The lower section has seven choices. Three of a Kind scores all five dice when at least three match; Four of a Kind needs four matching dice and also scores the total. Full House is 25 points for three of one face plus two of another. Small Straight scores 30 for four consecutive faces, while Large Straight scores 40 for five consecutive faces. Yahtzee is five of a kind and scores 50 in its box. Chance simply adds all five dice, no pattern needed.

Each box is available once. If your dice do not fit an open category you want, you may put zero in a category and save other choices. That is called crossing off a category. The zero still uses that box, so choose a category that has less future value for your game.

Simple strategy: protect your options

Good turns balance likely points against the scorecard's limited space. An early upper score can help build toward the 63-point bonus. When you already have several matching dice, rerolling toward Three or Four of a Kind may be worthwhile. A partial run can be a sensible straight attempt, especially if its current dice support both the short and long straight categories.

Chance is flexible because it accepts any dice total. Many players keep it for a turn when the dice miss a harder pattern, but a high Chance score can also be useful early if it protects another category. Think about what remains rather than following a fixed order. A high roll that does not fit a pattern can still be a strong Chance or kind score.

Use zero carefully. If you must cross out a category, consider which one is hardest for your current score sheet to achieve. A zero in a low-value upper row may cost fewer points than losing a 40-point Large Straight, but your upper bonus progress may change that calculation. There is no universal sacrifice: the right choice depends on the boxes already filled and the dice currently showing.

Common beginner mistakes

Thinking you must use all three rolls. Stop as soon as you have a score worth keeping.
Adding every die in an upper box. Only matching faces count there.
Confusing a run with a straight score. Small Straight needs four consecutive faces; Large Straight needs five.
Assuming a zero leaves a box open. It is a recorded score, so the category cannot be reused.
Forgetting the upper bonus. Track the subtotal across all six upper rows.
Scoring the same turn twice. One turn fills one category; choose the best available use of the roll.

Play solo or at a table

You can play Yahtzee alone to practice the score categories or compare a personal best across games. This website's browser game is a single-player scorecard; it does not match you with opponents or synchronize turns. To play with friends, sit together and take turns rolling the same five dice, with each person marking their own sheet. A paper scorecard keeps everyone's categories separate while the group follows the same thirteen-turn rules.

When all thirteen boxes are filled, total the category scores, add 35 if the upper subtotal is at least 63, and add any eligible Yahtzee bonuses. The highest total wins. Read the full Yahtzee rules and category scoring, or print a fresh Yahtzee score sheet for the table.