History of Yahtzee
Yahtzee was invented in 1954 by an anonymous Canadian couple, and they called it "The Yacht Game" because they played it on their yacht with their friends. Two years later they asked toy and game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe if he would make up some sets to be given as gifts to their friends who enjoyed the game. Lowe perceived the possibility of marketing the game, and acquired the rights to the game from the couple in exchange for 1,000 gift sets.

Lowe changed the name to "Yahtzee." He initially had trouble selling the game commercially, since the rules and appeal were not easily conveyed in an advertisement. Eventually he had the idea of organizing "Yahtzee parties" where people could play the game and thereby earn a firsthand appreciation for it. The idea was successful, and enthusiasts quickly popularized the game through word-of mouth.

Objective of Yahtzee
Yahtzee consists of 13 rounds. In each round, you roll the dice to score points in one of the 13 categories. The score is determined by a different rule for each category; see the section on Scoring below. The game ends once all 13 categories have been scored.

How to Play Yahtzee
To start the game, you roll one die to see who goes first. The player that rolls the highest number will go first. Thereafter, You roll all 5 dice by clicking on the Roll button. After you roll the dice, you can either score the current roll, or re-roll any or all of the five dice.

You can roll the dice a total of three times -- the initial roll (in which you must roll all the dice), plus two re-rolls of any or all dice. After rolling three times, you must score the roll.

Scoring
Once you have the dice combination you want to score, you score the roll in one of the 13 categories. You do this by clicking on one of the categories in either the Upper Scores or Lower Scores box. Once a category has been scored. You  may no longer score in that category.

Upper Scores
In the upper scores section, you score only the specified die face. So if you roll:
3, 4, 3, 6, 3 and score in the Threes category, your total for that entry would be 9.

if you score 63 or more points in the upper section, you will receive a bonus of 35 points.

Lower Scores
In the lower scores section, you score a set amount (defined by the category), or zero if you don not satisfy the category requirements.

3 and 4 of a Kind
For 3 of a Kind, you must have at least three of the same die faces. If so, you score the total amount all 5 dice. This also applies to the  4 of a Kind, except that you must have 4 of the 5 die faces the same. So for example, if you rolled:5, 2, 5, 5, 3 you would receive 20 points for 3 of a Kind, but zero points for 4 of a Kind.

Straights
A straight is a sequence of consecutive die faces; a small straight is 4 consecutive faces, and a large straight is 5 consecutive faces. Small straights score 30 points and large straights score 40 points.

Therefore, if you rolled: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 you could score either a small straight or a large straight, since this roll satisfies both.

Full House
A Full House is a roll where you have both a 3 of a kind, and a pair. Full houses score 25 points.

5 of a Kind
A 5 of a kind is when all 5 dice faces are the same, this category scores 50 points. If you roll more than one 5 of a kind in a single game, you will earn a 100 point bonus.

Chance
Chance is the catch-all roll. You can apply any roll to this category and score the total amount of all 5 dice.

The Clock
Your clock will only run when it is your turn to play, and it stops when you complete your turn. If you run out of time, then you lose the game and your wager, if playing in a real money game.

Tips
Try to get your 35 point bonus for the upper section. Use your 4 of a kinds in the upper section first to help you get the bonus. Save your chance roll for when you do not have a suit, the chance roll can be very valuable at the end of the game.

For more info on how to play Yahtzee see our FAQ’s and for Strategy and Tips check out our Message Board ...