Yahtzee Rules: How to Play, Scoring and the Yatzy Variant

Yahtzee is played with five dice and a score sheet of 13 boxes. On your turn you roll up to three times, keeping any dice you like between rolls, then score the result in one empty box. After 13 turns every box is full, and the highest total wins.

Yahtzee rules at a glance (October 2026)

How does a turn work in Yahtzee?

Roll all five dice. Set aside the ones you want to keep and roll the rest, and do it once more if you like. You may pick a kept die up again before the next roll.

After the first, second or third roll, choose one empty box and write in what the dice score there. You must fill a box every turn, so when nothing fits you write a zero, often called scratching the box.

How is Yahtzee scored?

The sheet has an upper section of six boxes and a lower section of seven.

A small straight is 1-2-3-4, 2-3-4-5 or 3-4-5-6, with the fifth die anything. A large straight is 1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6.

How does the upper section bonus work?

If the six upper boxes add up to 63 or more, you get 35 extra points. 63 is exactly three of each face (3 + 6 + 9 + 12 + 15 + 18), so a fourth five or six makes up for a weak Ones or Twos. The bonus counts even if one of those boxes holds a zero.

What happens if you roll a second Yahtzee?

It depends on the edition, so agree on it before you start:

• Hasbro's Yahtzee: if the Yahtzee box already holds 50, you get a 100-point bonus. Under the Joker rule you then score the roll in the upper box of that face if it is open; if not, in any open lower box, where full house and the straights count their full 25, 30 or 40; if no lower box is open, you write a zero in an upper box. With a zero in the Yahtzee box there is no bonus, but the Joker rule still applies.
• Kniffel, the German edition: each further Kniffel is worth 50 extra points, and the dice also go in the matching upper box.
• Yams, the French name: many French sheets pay 100 for a second Yams.
• Scandinavian Yatzy: no bonus. A second Yatzy scores like any other roll.

How is Scandinavian Yatzy different?

Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland play Yatzy, with 15 boxes:

So the bonus is bigger, the kinds count only the matching dice, the straights are fixed and a full house is worth its dice, not 25. Maxi Yatzy uses six dice and more boxes.

What is a good Yahtzee score?

With perfect play and no Yahtzee bonuses a game averages about 245 points, according to the analysis shown in Wikipedia's Yahtzee article. Casual games usually land lower, and the 35-point bonus is the biggest single step up.

Play Yahtzee online

You can play by these rules now in our free Yahtzee game: alone or with up to 4 players on one device, on the Yahtzee or the Scandinavian sheet. It leaves out extra-Yahtzee bonuses, so a second Yahtzee scores like any other roll.

Yahtzee is a trademark of Hasbro. Gift Club is not affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro.

Yahtzee rules: common questions

How many turns are in a game of Yahtzee?

13, one for each box. The game ends when every player has filled all 13.

Can you score zero in Yahtzee?

Yes. You must fill a box every turn, so if the dice fit nothing you still have open, you write 0 in a box of your choice.

Can you re-roll dice you already kept?

Yes. Between rolls you can pick up any die you set aside and roll it again.

Does a Yahtzee count as a full house?

Not under the normal rules: a full house needs two different faces. Under Hasbro's Joker rule, a second Yahtzee can be scored as a full house for 25.