Yahtzee Rules

Yahtzee is a five-dice scorecard game. Make the most of up to three rolls, then place one score in an open category. After 13 turns, the player with the highest total wins.

Each player uses five dice and a score sheet with thirteen categories. A turn always ends with one category filled, even if the roll does not fit and the score is zero. Since every category can be used only once, the game combines luck with choices about which results to keep and which score boxes to protect.

How a Turn Works in Yahtzee

1. Under Yahtzee rules, roll all five dice to start your turn.
2. Choose any dice to keep. Set the others aside to reroll.
3. Roll the dice you did not keep. You may keep and reroll again for a third and final roll.
4. After your last roll, choose one unfilled category and record its score.

You may stop after the first or second roll if the result is useful. You do not have to use all three rolls. Dice kept after one roll may be changed on the next, so a choice is not permanent until you decide to stop rolling. Once you record a category, the turn ends and those dice cannot be applied to another box.

There are thirteen categories, so a complete game takes thirteen turns per player. A player may choose a category with a score of zero when the dice do not satisfy its scoring condition. That still uses the category. No category may be scored twice during the ordinary game.

All 13 Yahtzee Scoring Categories

Under Yahtzee rules, the upper section rewards matching faces. Add only dice showing the named number. The lower section uses combinations or the total of all five dice. Fixed scores are earned only when their pattern is present, except where the Joker rule specifies a fixed score for an extra Yahtzee.

In the upper section, count only dice that match the row label; each matching die is worth its face value. A single matching die starts the score, and extra matching dice add the same amount again. The other faces never contribute to an upper category, even when they make the total of all five dice high.

• Ones: each die showing 1 adds one point. Four Ones score 4; dice showing other numbers are ignored.
• Twos: each 2 adds two points. Three Twos score 6, while a pair scores 4.
• Threes: multiply the number of 3s by three. Five Threes score 15; one Three scores 3.
• Fours: each matching die is worth four. A roll with two Fours scores 8 in this row.
• Fives: multiply the count of fives by five. Three Fives score 15 toward the upper bonus.
• Sixes: each Six contributes six points. Four Sixes score 24, the highest possible single upper-row result.

Three of a Kind and Four of a Kind require at least the matching count, and score the sum of all five dice. The remaining dice do not need to match each other. For example, 4, 4, 4, 2, 6 qualifies for Three of a Kind and scores 20. It does not qualify for Four of a Kind.

A Full House is exactly three dice of one value and two of another, for 25 points. A four of a kind plus a fifth die is not a Full House. A Small Straight is a run of four consecutive numbers among the dice, for 30 points; the fifth die can be anything. A Large Straight is five consecutive numbers, either 1–5 or 2–6, and scores 40. Duplicate dice do not extend a run.

Yahtzee Rules: The 35-Point Upper Bonus

Under Yahtzee rules, add the points entered in Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, and Sixes. If that upper-section subtotal reaches 63 or more, add a 35-point bonus to your final score. You do not need to fill every upper category with exactly three matching dice; 63 is simply the threshold across the six boxes.

Three of each number would add to 63: three Ones score 3, three Twos score 6, and so on through three Sixes for 18. A player can reach the threshold with different combinations. Scores above 63 do not increase the bonus; the upper bonus is 35 points once the threshold is met, and zero if the subtotal is below it.

Yahtzee Bonus and the Joker Rule

Under Yahtzee rules, a five of a kind recorded in the Yahtzee category scores 50 points. For each later roll of five matching dice, receive a 100-point Yahtzee bonus only when the Yahtzee box contains 50. Mark the bonus on the score sheet, then also score the roll in one open category under the Joker rule. Each additional Yahtzee can earn another 100 points when eligible.

A later Yahtzee still follows the Joker placement rule even if the Yahtzee box was previously scored as zero. In that case, it earns no 100-point bonus, but you still have to record the roll in one open category using the Joker order.

1. First check the upper category matching the dice value. If it is open, you must score the five dice there. For five Fours, that is 20 points in Fours.
2. If that matching upper category is already filled, choose an open lower category. Three of a Kind and Four of a Kind score the dice total; Full House is 25, Small Straight is 30, and Large Straight is 40. Chance scores the dice total.
3. If the matching upper box and all lower categories are filled, place zero in any open upper category.

The Joker rule changes where an extra Yahtzee may be placed and, in some lower categories, supplies the fixed pattern score. The ordinary score for a category still applies when no Joker is involved. A bonus marker is separate from the category score, so count both when totaling a qualifying extra Yahtzee.

Yahtzee Rules for Winning and Keeping Score

Under Yahtzee rules, at the end of thirteen turns, total the thirteen category scores, add the upper bonus if earned, and add any Yahtzee bonuses. The highest total wins. If playing with friends at a table, each player keeps a separate scorecard and takes one turn at a time; the shared rules and end-of-game total remain the same.

Use the beginner's step-by-step guide if you are learning the turn for the first time, or open the printable Yahtzee score sheet to keep a paper copy. Hasbro's official Yahtzee rules PDF contains the game's published instructions. Its Joker-rule FAQ explains the special case when the Yahtzee box contains zero.

Yahtzee rules FAQ

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