Yahtzee Rules, Score Sheet and Score Card
Ran out of score cards, or stuck on what to do with a second Yahtzee? Enter your five dice below and the score card shows what every open box is worth, follows the extra-Yahtzee rule for you and keeps the totals. There is a blank sheet to print, and the rules are underneath.
Yahtzee rules in 30 seconds
- You need five dice, a score card for each player and a pen. One player or more.
- Everyone rolls one die to see who starts; highest goes first and play goes clockwise.
- On your turn you may roll up to three times. Roll all five first, then set aside any you like and reroll the others. A die you set aside can be picked up again on the third roll.
- After your last roll, fill one empty box on your card. If the dice fit nothing you want, you still fill a box, with a 0 if you have to. A filled box stays filled.
- The game is 13 turns, one per box. Get 63 or more in the top six boxes for a 35-point bonus. Highest grand total wins.
Digital Yahtzee score card
Standings
| Player | Upper | Bonus | Lower | Yahtzee bonus | Total | Bonus pace |
|---|
Everyone's boxes
Printable Yahtzee score sheet
Score sheet Tally & Table
| Box | Scores | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name or game | |||||||
| Aces (1s) | Add the 1s | ||||||
| Twos | Add the 2s | ||||||
| Threes | Add the 3s | ||||||
| Fours | Add the 4s | ||||||
| Fives | Add the 5s | ||||||
| Sixes | Add the 6s | ||||||
| Upper subtotal | |||||||
| Bonus (63 or more) | 35 | ||||||
| Upper total | |||||||
| 3 of a kind | Add all 5 dice | ||||||
| 4 of a kind | Add all 5 dice | ||||||
| Full house | 25 | ||||||
| Small straight | 30 | ||||||
| Large straight | 40 | ||||||
| Yahtzee | 50 | ||||||
| Chance | Add all 5 dice | ||||||
| Extra Yahtzees | 100 each | ||||||
| Lower total | |||||||
| Grand total | Upper + lower | ||||||
Upper bonus: 35 if Aces to Sixes add to 63 or more. Extra Yahtzee: 100 each, only with 50 in the Yahtzee box; then fill the matching upper box, else 3 or 4 of a kind, else any lower box at full value.
What each box scores
The card has two halves. The upper section counts one face at a time. The lower section scores poker-style combinations, some with a fixed value and some with the total of all five dice.
| Box | How it scores | Example roll | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aces (1s) | Total of the 1s | 1 1 4 5 1 | 3 |
| Fives | Total of the 5s | 5 5 2 5 6 | 15 |
| 3 of a kind | At least three alike: total of all five dice | 4 4 4 2 5 | 19 |
| 4 of a kind | At least four alike: total of all five dice | 3 3 3 3 6 | 18 |
| Full house | Three of one face and two of another: 25 | 2 2 5 5 5 | 25 |
| Small straight | Four in a row: 30 | 1 3 4 5 6 | 30 |
| Large straight | Five in a row: 40 | 1 2 3 4 5 | 40 |
| Yahtzee | Five alike: 50 | 4 4 4 4 4 | 50 |
| Chance | Anything: total of all five dice | 1 3 4 6 6 | 20 |
Twos through Sixes work the same way as Aces: 6, 6, 6, 2, 1 in the Sixes box is 18. A single matching die is allowed, and one die is better than a 0.
Rolls people argue about
- 1, 2, 3, 4, 4 is a small straight (30). The extra 4 does not break the run.
- 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 can go in either straight box. Hasbro's sheet says a large straight may be scored as a small one.
- 4, 4, 4, 4, 5 is not a full house. Four of a kind plus one is not three plus two.
- 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 scores 15 in 3 of a kind or 4 of a kind, 15 in Threes, or 50 in the Yahtzee box. It only counts as a full house or straight under the extra-Yahtzee rule below.
Extra Yahtzees: the bonus and where the roll goes
This is the rule most tables get wrong. It only applies when you roll five of a kind and your Yahtzee box is already filled.
The bonus. If the Yahtzee box holds 50, every extra Yahtzee earns 100 bonus points. If you put a 0 there earlier, you get no bonus, but the placement steps below still apply.
Where the roll goes. You still fill one box that turn, in this order:
- The matching upper box, if it is empty. Five 4s go in Fours for 20. You have no other choice.
- If that box is already filled: 3 of a kind or 4 of a kind, scored with the total of the dice.
- If both of those are filled: any other empty lower box, at its full value. Full house is 25, small straight 30, large straight 40, Chance the total.
- If every lower box is filled: a 0 in one of your empty upper boxes. The sheet does not spell out this last step, but the dice cannot score anything else there.
Example. You scored 50 in the Yahtzee box on turn 4. On turn 10 you roll five 6s. Your Sixes box already has 18, and both your 3 of a kind and 4 of a kind boxes are filled. You add 100 to your Yahtzee bonus, then step 3 lets you pick any open lower box. Large straight is open, so you take the 40 there instead of 30 in Chance. Your turn is worth 140.
Some apps and family rules let an extra Yahtzee go anywhere. The order above is the one on Hasbro's current sheet, and it is the one our score card follows.
Strategy that follows from the numbers
- The 35 bonus is three of each face. 3 + 6 + 9 + 12 + 15 + 18 = 63. Count against that line as you go: four 5s puts you 5 ahead, two 6s puts you 6 behind. The pace number on our score card does this sum for you.
- The high faces carry the bonus. Missing one 6 costs as much as missing six 1s. A fourth 5 or 6 covers a short Aces or Twos box; the reverse barely works.
- The bonus is worth more than a full house. 35 against 25. Early in the game, three or four 5s or 6s usually belong in the upper box, not 3 of a kind.
- Pick cheap zeros. A 0 in Aces costs at most 5 points and only 3 of bonus pace. A 0 in Sixes costs 18 of pace and very likely the bonus.
- Keep Chance for later. Five random dice average 17.5. Chance is most useful as the box that saves a bad final roll from a 0.
- Know the odds of a Yahtzee. If you keep your biggest matching group and reroll the rest each time, a turn ends in a Yahtzee about 4.6% of the time, roughly 1 turn in 22. We worked this out by counting every possible reroll. Chasing one early is fine because a near miss still fills Fours or 4 of a kind. With two or three turns left and the box still empty, the Yahtzee box is often the cheapest place for a 0.
Yahtzee questions
How many turns are in a game of Yahtzee?
Thirteen, one for each box on the card. Every turn ends with exactly one box filled, so the game is over when everyone has filled all 13.
What do you get for 63 in the upper section?
A 35-point bonus. 63 is what you get from exactly three of every face (3 + 6 + 9 + 12 + 15 + 18), so getting three of each, or making up for a short box with extras elsewhere, earns it.
Does a large straight count as a small straight?
Yes. Five in a row contains four in a row, so 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 can go in the small straight box for 30 if your large straight box is already filled.
Is five of a kind a full house?
Not normally. A full house needs three of one face and two of a different face. The exception is the extra-Yahtzee rule: once your Yahtzee box is filled and the earlier choices are used up, a later Yahtzee can go in the full house box for the full 25.
How do you get the 100-point Yahtzee bonus?
Roll another Yahtzee after you have already scored 50 in the Yahtzee box. Each extra one is worth 100, and you still fill a box that turn using the extra-Yahtzee order. If you put a 0 in the Yahtzee box earlier, extra Yahtzees earn no bonus.
What is the highest possible Yahtzee score?
1,575. That takes five of a kind in every upper box (140 with the bonus), the best possible score in every lower box (235), and 12 extra Yahtzees at 100 each. It will not happen at your table.
What if nothing fits my roll?
You still have to fill a box, so you write a 0 in one. Pick the box that costs you least: often Aces, or a long shot like the Yahtzee box late in the game.