Yahtzee Rules: A Game Tutorial for Beginners

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A fast and easy guide to all the dice combos in this iconic game

Co-authored by Janice Tieperman Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: April 10, 2024 Fact Checked

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Yahtzee Rules

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How to Score Yahtzee

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Yahtzee Strategies

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Q&A

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Yahtzee is a beloved dice-rolling game where players roll 5 dice and try to create unique, high-scoring combinations for 13 rounds. Whether you’re playing by yourself or with a friend, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about this simple game, including how to play and score your match correctly. We’ll also touch on some handy strategies you can apply to your next game so you can achieve the highest possible score.

How do you play a turn in Yahtzee?

Roll the dice and see if you have any multiples (like three 2s) or potential combos (like a 1, 2, and 3). Take these “keeper” dice and set them aside.
Roll the remaining dice a second time and hold onto any promising dice that can help you complete a combo worth lots of points.
Roll any leftover dice a third time and decide which combo category you’d like to score for this round. Write your score down on the score card.

Section 1 of 3:

How to Play Yahtzee

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Roll the dice to see who goes first. Each player rolls the 5 Yahtzee dice and adds up their total—whoever gets the highest score goes first. From there, play continues in a clockwise direction.^{[1]
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- Your Yahtzee game should come with a set of dice and a cup/shaker to use.
- Skip this step if you’re playing Yahtzee by yourself.
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Roll the dice for the first time. Take a look at what you’ve rolled: do you see any multiples of the same number or a wide range of numbers that could work well for a combo? Separate any “keeper” dice from the rest and hold onto them for the rest of your turn, or put them back in the cup to reroll. If you’re happy with your first dice roll, you can end your turn here (you can roll up to 3 times in a single turn of Yahtzee). Here’s a quick refresher of the different Yahtzee dice combos:^{[2]
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- Aces: Having at least one 1 dice (point value: the sum of all your 1s)
- Twos: Having at least one 2 dice (point value: the sum of all your 2s)
- Threes: Having at least one 3 dice (point value: the sum of all your 3s)
- Fours: Having at least one 4 dice (point value: the sum of all your 4s)
- Fives: Having at least one 5 dice (point value: the sum of all your 5s)
- Sixes: Having at least one 6 dice (point value: the sum of all your 6s)
- 3 of a kind: Three identical dice (point value: the sum of all your dice)
- 4 of a kind: Four identical dice (point value: the sum of all your dice)
- Full House: A pair of identical dice and a trio of identical dice (worth 25 points)
- Small Straight: A 1, 2, 3, and 4; a 2, 3, 4, and 5; or a 3, 4, 5, and 6 (worth 30 points)
- Large Straight: A 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 or a 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (worth 40 points)
- Yahtzee: Five identical dice (worth 50 points)
- Chance: Any assortment of 5 dice (point value: the sum of all your dice)
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Roll for the second time. Put the remaining dice in the cup and roll them out again. As you did before, look over the dice and decide if there are any you’d like to hold onto. Put these aside with any dice you already separated earlier, or simply put all the dice back in the cup to reroll.^{[3]
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- If you’re happy with your dice, feel free to end your turn here.
- Keep a few different scoring categories in mind as you roll to help maximize your score.
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Roll for the third time. Stick any leftover dice back in the cup and shake them out again (if you’re still unhappy. At this point, look at your scorecard and decide which of the 13 scoring categories you’d like to use for this round.^{[4]
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- For example, if you rolled three 1s and two 4s, you could stick your score in the “Ones” or “Fours” row (for 3 or 8 points, respectively), or count it as a Full House for 25 points.
Choose a category on your scorecard (e.g., Ones, Twos, Full House, 3 of a kind, etc.) to use for the round—once you choose one and enter a score on your scorecard, you can’t erase or swap it with another category later on. The player sitting to the left of you can then take their turn, with gameplay continuing in a clockwise direction.^{[5]
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Repeat the rolling and scoring process for another 12 turns. As you roll and reroll on your turn, try to maximize your point total. Jot down each round’s score in a new row until everyone has finished their 13th turn.^{[6]
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- If your dice total doesn’t work for any of the scoring categories, put a “0” down for one of the categories instead.^{[7]
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Tally up your points and declare a winner. Take a look at the Upper Section of your scorecard: did you net at least 63 total points? If so, add an extra 35 points to your score. Combine the scores of the Upper and Lower scorecard Sections (including the 35-point bonus and any 100-point Yahtzee bonuses) to get your grand total. Whoever has the highest score wins the game!
- Yahtzee scorecards are designed to track multiple games, so feel free to start another game if everyone’s feeling up to it!

Section 2 of 3:

How to Score Yahtzee

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1
A Yahtzee scoresheet is divided into Upper and Lower Sections. Yahtzee games typically come with grid-like scoresheets that are divided into an “Upper Section” and “Lower Section,” both of which are combined to produce your grand total for the game. During each round, you choose a scoring category to tally your score in.^{[8]
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- The Upper Section includes your scores for Aces, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, and Sixes. The Lower Section includes 3 of a kind, 4-of-a-kind, Full House, Small Straight, Large Straight, Yahtzee, and Chance.
- Yahtzee scorecards come with multiple columns so they can be repurposed for multiple games of Yahtzee. As you play, record your scores in the same column.
- Don’t have a scorecard on hand? Print out a blank scorecard here.
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Aces: the sum of your 1s At the end of your turn, count how many 1s you have, add the total together, and tally that number in the “Aces” Section of your scorecard.
- Example: If you rolled four 1s during your 3 turns, your total score for this Section would be 4.
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Twos: the sum of your 2s Once your turn ends, count up all the 2s you have and add them together. Write the total in the “Twos” row on your scorecard.
- Example: If you rolled three 2s during your turn, your total score for this Section would be 6.
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Threes: the sum of your 3s Count up the total number of 3s you have at the end of your turn and add them together. Jot down this number in the “Threes” row on your scorecard.
- Example: If you only rolled one 3 during your turn, your score for the round would just be 3.
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Fours: the sum of your 4s Tally up the total number of 4s you have in one round and add them all together. Write the final total down in the “Fours” row on your scorecard.
- Example: If you rolled four 4s during your turn, your score for the round would be 16.
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Fives: the sum of your 5s Add up all the 5s you rolled in one round and put the final total on your scorecard in the “Fives” row.
- Example: If you rolled two 5s during your turn, you’d write 10 in for your score.
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Sixes: the sum of your 6s Combine all the 6s you rolled that round and add them together. Put the final total in the “Sixes” row on your scorecard.
- Example: If you rolled four 6s, your score for the round would be 24.
- Special bonus: If the combined total of your Aces, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, and Sixes rows is higher than 63, you get a 35-point bonus to your total score.^{[9]
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3 of a kind: the sum of all dice A 3 of a kind consists of 3 identical dice and 2 different, unrelated dice. Add up all 5 dice together to get your score for the round.
- Example: Rolling three 3s, one 2, and one 6 would count as a 3 of a kind. Combined, your total would be 17 for the round.
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4 of a kind: the sum of all dice A 4 of a kind includes 4 identical dice and 1 random dice—think of it as a near-miss to a Yahtzee. Like a 3 of a kind, a 4 of a kind is scored by adding all the dice together.
- Example: If you had four 4s and one 1, your total for the round would be 17.
A Full House includes 3 matching dice of one number and 2 matching dice of another—for instance, finishing with a hand of three 4s and two 5s would be considered a Full House. This combo is always worth 25 points.
A Small Straight refers to a set up of 4 dice that are in sequential order, like 1, 2, 3, and 4; 2, 3, 4, and 5; and 3, 4, 5, and 6. A Small Straight is always worth 30 points.
A Large Straight is a set of 5 dice that are in sequential order, like 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 or 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Large Straights are always counted for 40 points.
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Yahtzee: 50 points A Yahtzee is a set of 5 identical dice rolled within 3 turns. Your first Yahtzee is worth 50 points, regardless of the number value on the dice. If you roll additional Yahtzees and have already earned your 50 points, check off one of the “Yahtzee Bonus” boxes to get an additional 100 points.
- What if I marked 0 for Yahtzee already? According to Yahtzee’s official “joker rules,” you can count your Yahtzee toward its corresponding number, 3 of a kind, 4 of a kind, Full House, Small Straight, Large Straight, or Chance. The normal scoring rules apply, like adding up the dice total for 3s/4s of a kind or earning 25 points for a Full House. If you already used these categories, put a 0 in any leftover Upper Section rows.^{[10]
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Chance is a grab-bag space for any roll that doesn’t quite fit in the pre-established scoring categories. Simply add up the total of all 5 dice and then record it in the ”Chance” row on your scorecard.

Section 3 of 3:

Yahtzee Strategies

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If you earn at least 63 points in the Upper Section of your scorecard (where the Aces, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, and Sixes are), you earn a 35-point bonus to your final score. Rather than sticking these rolls in the 3 or 4 of a kind row, put them in the Upper Section of your scorecard instead.^{[11]
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Although it might be statistically tempting to 0 out the Yahtzee or Large Straight row when you’re having a rough game, consider zeroing out the low-number rows in the Upper Section first. If you end up getting a big dice combo (like a Yahtzee or Large Straight), it will more than balance out a zeroed-out Aces, Twos, or Threes row.
The Chance row can be a handy resource if you fail to get a high-value combination, like a Large Straight or Yahtzee. Try not to use it super early in the game, though, or else you’ll have to potentially zero out a valuable row (or tally a low score for a numbered row).^{[12]
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While Yahtzee is ultimately a game of chance, it makes more sense to aim for this difficult dice combo as soon as possible, rather than hoping for a miracle in the final rounds. Even if you fail, you’ll still have plenty of scoring categories to choose from.^{[13]
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Put a 1 and a 2 toward a Straight whenever possible. Since 3 and 4 of a kinds are calculated by adding the dice total together, it doesn’t make sense to make these combinations with low-value numbers. If you already have a 1 and 2, you’re already 50% of the way to a Small Straight (or 40% of the way to a Large Straight).^{[14]
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- Getting a 1 and 2 early on can also work well for a Full House.

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Can I use the score of one of the dice in the upper section?

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Yes, if the section is open, or you can take zero for anything, whenever you wish.

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If you get a second Yahtzee with fives, do you get to count the Yahtzee and 25 in your fives?

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Yes. Score 25 in your fives and add a check mark in the lower section for a bonus Yahtzee. At the end of the game, multiply your check marks by 100 for your total bonus Yahtzee score.

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Can I only write 0 in the top?

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No, you write down the total you got for that number. For example, if you had only one "2," you could enter "2" in the twos row. Obviously, if you don't have any twos, then it would be zero.

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