Complete Rules for Yahtzee

Object of the Game
Score as many points as possible without cheating.

Your Opponents
This is just a one player game, but There is a list of the top 15 scores of all time. These scores and the people who registered them are your opponents, your enemies if you will.

How to Play
  • You get three rolls per turn, with a total of 13 turns. If you are superstitious and have bad luck, don't even bother playing, the only way to score high is to be lucky. Unless of course you master the techniques detailed in the Strategy Guide.
  • On the first roll you must roll all five dice. After your first roll hold any of the dice you want to keep.
  • On the second and third rolls you may roll any or all of the dice. You can hold, or unhold any die you want between rolls, and then roll the unheld dice.
  • The numbers on the dice after the third roll are final for a given turn, there are no refunds or exchanges and you must enter a score after each turn.

How to Score
There are 13 scoring categories. After each turn you must enter a score in one of the categories, even if it is a zero.
You can fill the score categories in any order that you want, but you can only score each category once per game.

Scoring Categories and Definitions
Section 1
OnesAdd only dice showing a 1
TwosAdd only dice showing a 2
ThreesAdd only dice showing a 3
FoursAdd only dice showing a 4
FivesAdd only dice showing a 5
SixesAdd only dice showing a 6
Section 2
3 of a KindMust have 3 of any number showing - Add total of all dice
4 of a KindMust have 4 of any number showing - Add total of all dice
Full HouseMust have 3 of one number and 2 of another - Score 25
Small StraightSequence of 4 consecutive numbers - Score 30
Large StraightSequence of 5 consecutive numbers - Score 40
ChanceDoesn't matter what dice are showing - Add total of all dice
YahtzeeAll five dice show the same number - Score 50

Section 1 Bonus Points
If your Section 1 subtotal of [ones, twos, .. sixes] is greater than or equal to 63 you get 35 bonus points.

Section 2 Bonus Points - Yahtzee Bonus
A Yahtzee bonus is awarded for the second and each subsequent Yahtzee you roll. Each bonus scores 100 points. You must have a 50 (first Yahtzee) scored in the Yahtzee category before a bonus is scored. If you score a zero in the Yahtzee category you cannot score any Yahtzee bonus ever, until the next game.

Using a Yahtzee Roll as a Wild Card in Section 2
Any Yahtzee may be used in Section 2 as a wild card if both of the following conditions exist:
    (A) The Yahtzee category has already been scored with a 50 or a zero.
    (2) The corresponding category in Section 1 has already been scored. For instance if you rolled all Sixes, the Sixes category must already have a score in order to use the current roll as a wild card.
If both of these conditions exist the roll can be scored as a Full House (25) or a small or large straight (30 or 40 respectively). Of course you can always score any Yahtzee roll as 3 or 4 of a Kind or Chance (total of all dice for each).

Highest Possible Score
The highest score possible excluding Yahtzee bonus points is 375. The highest possible total including Yahtzee bonus points is 1575.


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