Yatzy
Yatzy: Quick Guide and Game Info
Yatzy is a dice game where every roll gives you a choice: keep what you’ve got, reroll for something better or take the points before your luck runs out.
In our version, you play against Marty using either five or six dice. Choose a quick One Off game or settle in for a Best of 3 or Best of 5 series. Each turn gives you up to three rolls. Keep the dice you want between rolls and then choose where to record your final result on the scorecard. Once a category has been used, you can’t use it again. The player with the highest total score at the end wins the round.
About Our Yatzy
Evergreen Arcade’s Yatzy gives you two versions of the game: five dice or six dice. The five-dice version uses the familiar Yatzy format, while the six-dice version gives you an extra die and additional scoring combinations to consider.
You can also choose how long you want the competition with Marty to last:
One Off — One game decides the winner.
Best of 3 — The first player to win two rounds takes the series.
Best of 5 — The first player to win three rounds takes the series.
If you and Marty finish a round with the same score, the round is a draw and neither player receives a point toward the series.
Marty is a reasonably clever opponent. He recognises promising combinations, knows when he’s close to a straight or full house, keeps an eye on his upper-section bonus and generally avoids throwing away valuable scoring opportunities. He does have one weakness: Marty plays his own game. He doesn’t change his decisions based on what you’re doing, so paying attention to the overall match is entirely up to you.
Five Dice or Six Dice?
You can choose which version to play before the game begins.
Five-dice Yatzy uses the traditional format, with scoring categories ranging from Ones through Sixes in the upper section and combinations such as pairs, straights, Full House, Chance and Yatzy elsewhere on the scorecard.
Six-dice Yatzy gives you one additional die and expands the scorecard with combinations that aren’t possible in quite the same way with only five dice.
That extra die creates more possible combinations, but it also gives you more decisions to make about what to keep and what to reroll. If you’re used to regular five-dice Yatzy, try the six-dice version when you want something a little different.
Game Layout and Setup
At the beginning, choose whether you want to play with five or six dice, followed by your match format: One Off, Best of 3 or Best of 5.
The game area contains:
- Your dice
- Roll counter
- Your scorecard
- Marty’s scorecard
- Series score
- Current round
- Roll button
Each turn gives you a maximum of three rolls. After your first roll, select any dice you want to keep. Those dice remain in place while the others are rolled again. You can change which dice you’re keeping before the next roll, giving you the freedom to change direction if a better combination starts to appear.
When you’re ready, select an available category on your scorecard to record the result and end your turn. Then it’s Marty’s turn.
Understanding the Scorecard
The scorecard is divided into an upper section and a collection of combination-based categories.
Ones Through Sixes
For the upper section, score the total value of all dice matching the selected number.
If you roll:
6 – 6 – 6 – 3 – 1
you could score 18 points in Sixes. The upper section is particularly important because reaching at least 63 points earns you a 50-point bonus. A useful way to think about the target is to aim for roughly three of each number. Three Ones, three Twos, three Threes and so on would total exactly 63 points.
More About the Scorecard
Pairs and Matching Sets
Categories such as One Pair, Two Pairs, Three of a Kind and Four of a Kind reward matching dice. The more useful matches you can preserve between rolls, the better your chances of turning them into a strong scoring combination.
Straights
A straight is made from consecutive numbers.
If your first roll already contains most of a sequence, consider keeping those dice and using your remaining rolls to chase the missing number.
Full House
A Full House combines a pair and a three-of-a-kind. For example, two 3s and three 5s make a Full House.
If you’ve already rolled most of the combination, it may be worth keeping those dice rather than abandoning them for a completely different target.
Chance
Chance is your safety net. It lets you score the total value of your dice without needing a particular combination. That makes it useful when a turn doesn’t go according to plan, but don’t waste it too early if you still have a strong opportunity elsewhere on the scorecard.
Yatzy
Yatzy is one of the hardest and most valuable combinations to roll. It requires all of your dice to show the same value. If you already have several matching dice, you can keep them and use your remaining rolls to chase the rest.
The six-dice version also includes additional scoring possibilities made possible by having the extra die.
How to Play Yatzy
Press Roll Dice to begin your turn.
After the dice stop, decide which ones are useful for the combination you’re trying to make.
Click the dice you want to keep, then roll the others again.
You have up to three rolls per turn, but you don’t have to use all three. If you’re happy with your result earlier, you can score it immediately.
Once you’ve chosen a scorecard category, the points are recorded and that category is closed for the rest of the game.
You and Marty alternate turns until every required category has been filled.
At the end of the round, the scores are added together and the player with the higher total wins.
In a series, the round winner receives one point. A tied round is recorded as a draw and neither player receives a point.
How to Improve Your Yatzy Strategy
Yatzy involves plenty of luck, but deciding what to keep, what to chase and where to record your score gives you a lot of control over how you use each roll.
Don’t Ignore the Upper Bonus
The 63-point upper-section target is worth paying attention to throughout the game because reaching it gives you an additional 50 points. A useful benchmark is three of each number. If you’re doing particularly well with Fives and Sixes, you can afford weaker results elsewhere. If you’ve scored poorly in several upper categories, you may need stronger rolls later to make up the difference.
Let the Dice Change Your Plan
You don’t have to stick with the combination you wanted before rolling. Perhaps you start a turn hoping for a straight but suddenly roll four Sixes. Chasing another Six or taking a strong Sixes score may now make much more sense. Good Yatzy play means recognizing when the dice are offering you something better than your original plan.
Think Before Your Final Reroll
Before rolling for the third and final time, consider both the reward and the risk. If you already have a respectable scoring option, ask whether rerolling is likely to improve it or simply leave you with fewer useful choices. Sometimes chasing the perfect combination is worthwhile. Sometimes taking the points is the better decision.
More Yatzy Strategy Tips
Use Chance as a Safety Net
Chance can rescue a turn that doesn’t produce the combination you were hoping for. Because almost any roll can go there, however, it’s valuable to keep available for emergencies. Using Chance for a mediocre score early in the game may leave you with nowhere comfortable to put an even worse roll later.
Be Careful When Sacrificing a Category
Eventually, you may have a turn where none of your remaining categories can produce a useful score. When that happens, you may need to accept a zero. Before sacrificing a category, think about which remaining slots still have the greatest scoring potential. Giving up a low-value category may hurt less than sacrificing something that could later produce a large score.
Watch the Whole Scorecard
Don’t judge a turn only by the number of points immediately available. Look at what you’ve already filled and what remains open. A modest score in a difficult-to-fill category may sometimes be more useful than a slightly higher score in a category you could easily fill later.
Remember You’re Playing a Match
Marty makes reasonably sensible decisions, but he isn’t studying your scorecard and adapting his strategy to yours. You can. In a close round, take a look at the overall scores and remaining categories. Sometimes you need to take a calculated risk to catch him; at other times, protecting a lead with dependable scores may be enough. And in Best of 3 or Best of 5, remember that you don’t have to dominate every round. You just need enough round victories to win the series.
A Little Bit of Yatzy History
Yatzy belongs to a much older family of dice games built around rolling combinations and recording them on a scorecard.
Games involving poker-like dice combinations existed before the modern commercial games we recognize today, and several related variations developed during the 20th century.
Yahtzee became particularly well known in North America after being commercially introduced during the 1950s. Meanwhile, Yatzy became a familiar version of the combination-dice format across the Nordic countries and other parts of Europe.
The names and basic ideas are obviously similar, but Yatzy and Yahtzee aren’t simply interchangeable names for exactly the same rules. Scoring categories, bonuses and combinations can differ depending on the version being played.
That’s also why you may encounter different Yatzy rules from one country, family or game collection to another.
Here on Evergreen Arcade, you can play both a five-dice version and an expanded six-dice version — and Marty will be waiting whichever one you choose.
Want to Play More Board and Dice Games?
Check out more board and dice games below
Gomoku
Shut the Box
Pig (the dice game)
Four in a Row
