Yatzy

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How to play Yatzy - game rules

You play Yatzy with five dice. The game consists of thirteen turns. Each player rolls the dice up to three times in each turn. Next to the board there is a list of all the required categories. The goal is to score as many points as possible in all the required categories altogether. All categories in the list must be filled.

Dice the game window. On the left side shows the panel with bone chips and scoring obtained for bone chips obtained.

List of categories and the board with chat and player list windows hidden.


The dice are rolled by clicking the‘Roll dice’button which appears on the board when it’s your turn. Players are obliged to roll the dice at least once (first roll is automatic), but the two remaining rolls are optional. Subsequent rolls are performed with dice you chose not to put aside, which is done by clicking on them. Only dice left on the table can be rolled.

Categories and scoring

After completing your turn, it is time to choose which category should be scored. Categories 1-6 are called simple, e.g. the score for the ‘Fours’ category would simply be the sum of all rolled fours:

CategoryDescriptionScore
Fours 12
(20)*

An example of scoring for a simple category.


If you select the wrong category, your turn will be underscored. For example, if you rolled two two pair, but selected three of a kind, then you are scored 0 points in the three of a kind category. In some instances you have to choose between two categories. For example, if you hit three fours, then it would be better to select the ‘three of a kind’ category, which would give you 35 points. If you select the ‘fours’ category, then you would be scored by simply adding up all the fours you rolled, which would be 12 points.

CategoryDescriptionScore
Two pair 20
(30)*
Three of a kind 25
(35)*
Four of a kind 35
(45)*
Straight 30
(40)*
30
(40)*
Full House 30
(40)*
Five of a kind 50
(60)*
Chance 19
(max 30)*

Examples of scoring for figure category. *For each unused roll you receive 5 points bonus, up to 10 points.


Chanceis scored by simply adding the value of all the dice, regardless of which numbers they land on.


Possible point bonuses:

  • For scoring 60 or more points in 1-6 categories (simple) - 20 points;
  • For each figure category (two pairs, three of a kind, four of a kind, straight, full house, five of a kind) extra points are scored for closing the category before all the 3 rolls (5 points for each roll unused), e.g. two pairs scored after the first roll are counted as follows: 20 + (2 * 5) = 30 points;
  • For closing all the figure categories with a non-zero score - 30 points;
  • For rolling five of a kind more than once during the game 2 kinds of bonuses are scored:
  • 40 points for each extra roll of the figure (apart from the first);

Extra bonus for rolling five of a kind is received only if the five of a kind category is already scored (non-zero).

Finishing a game

The game is finished after thirteen turns, or when one of the players is out of time. The player with the highest total score wins.