Goal of the Game
The goal of the game is to get the highest score by throwing your dice and achieving the best possible combinations with them. You can see which combinations are possible on the Yatzy board. The game is played with up to four players and supports three rules presets as well as an option to customize your own rules. You can do this via the settings. Online play will use the “classic” ruleset.
Order of Play
Each player starts their turn by throwing five or six dice, depending on the rules. You can choose to reroll any or all of those dice two more times, setting aside the ones you wish to keep for the moment. You can choose to score your dice at any time, but you have to score them after the second reroll. It is up to you which combination should be entered or which field should be filled in on the block. The last roll made always counts. You can never undo a roll. After scoring your dice, the next player starts their turn. This continues until a score has been entered for each category in the score sheet.
Scoring
The scoring sheet consists of two sections, each with a number of categories that can each be scored once per game. You do not need to meet the requirements of a category but if you don’t, you will get 0 points for that category.
Example of possible scoring options:
In the upper section you will be able to score the sum of your dice that rolled the same number of pips, with one entry each for ones, twos, threes, fours, fives and sixes. For example, you rolled 3-4-4-4-5-5. You can score this as 3 points in the category “threes”, 12 points in the category “fours”, or 10 points in the category “fives”.
Scoring 1
There is also a “sum” category for the upper half that adds up the six categories. If you reach at least 63 points in a game with five dice or 84 points in a game with six, you will receive a bonus, which you will find beneath the “sum” category. The bonus can be 35, 50 or 100 depending on the rules preset. To remind you of how well you’re doing, hitting the mark exactly will result in a black number, staying below will result in a red number, and scoring more will result in a green number. This should help you track your progress towards the bonus points.
Hint: The requirement for the bonus can be fulfilled by scoring exactly three dice for all six categories when playing with five dice or scoring four dice for each category when playing with six dice.
Scoring 2
For example, a roll of 1-1-2-4-6...
1. ... could be counted as 10 points in the "One pair" category for achieving the combination. That means, by the two ones the required combination was reached and therefore, regardless of the throw, you get 10 points for this combination.
2. ... as 14 points for the sum of all numbers of points (1+1+2+4+6).
3. ... as 2 points for the sum of the eyes used for the pair (1+1).
Alternatively, there is a possibility to cancel a roll and get zero points. This is the case, for example, when one does not want to have low points entered in the upper score in order to achieve the bonus. For example, you can delete one of the fields of score 2.
Scoring 3
Combinations
| One Pair | Any two dice with the same number of pips. Example: 2-2, 3-3, 5-5 |
| Two Pairs | Any two pairs. Example: 1-1-2-2, 2-2-5-5 |
| Three Pairs (6 dice only) | Any three pairs. Example: 2-2-3-3-4-4, 1-1-2-2-6-6 |
| Three-of-a-kind | Any three dice with the same number of pips. Example: 5-5-5, 6-6-6 |
| Two Three-of-a-kinds (6 dice only) | Any two three-of-a-kinds. Example: 1-1-1-4-4-4, 4-4-4-6-6-6 |
| Four-of-a-kind | Any four dice with the same number of pips. Example: 3-3-3-3, 5-5-5-5 |
| Full house | Any pair with any other three-of-a-kind for five dice, or any other four-of-a-kind for six dice. Example: 2-2-6-6-6 (5 dice), 2-2-6-6-6-6 (6 dice) |
| Small Straight | Any four dice in ascending order. Alternatively, exactly the numbers 1-2-3-4-5 depending on the rules preset. Example: 1-2-3-4, 2-3-4-5, 3-4-5-6 |
| Large Straight | Any five dice in ascending order. Alternatively, exactly the numbers 2-3-4-5-6 depending on the rules preset. Example: 1-2-3-4-5, 2-3-4-5-6 |
| Poker | The numbers one through six. Example: 1-2-3-4-5-6 |
| Yatzy | All dice rolled show the same number of pips. Example: 4-4-4-4-4 (5 dice), 1-1-1-1-1-1 (6 dice) |
| Chance | Here the sum of all the dice is taken as points. This is a good option to get points if no other combination was achieved. |
You can always tap the “?” in the top left or right corner during a game to see the exact scoring conditions for your current game.
Scoring Conditions
Optional Rules
If you want a little bit more flexibility, you can set how pairs are counted in the custom rules section from 1-1-2-2-3-3 to 1-1-2-2-1-1. This will allow you to score any four-of-a-kind as two seperate pairs. Otherwise, every pair will have to be distinct.
For a more challenging experience, there is an option in the custom rules section to force scoring in order from top to bottom. This means, you will start with ones, then twos, then threes and so on until you finally score the chance.
You can download our mobile version of Yahtzee here: Yatzy by LITE Games