How to score Yahtzee: every box, both bonuses and the joker rule

How a turn works

Each player has a column on the scorecard with 13 boxes, and the game lasts 13 rounds, one box per round. On your turn:

1. Roll all five dice.
2. Keep any dice you like and re-roll the rest. You can do this twice, so up to three rolls in all. You can stop after the first or second roll.
3. Score in one empty box. You must fill a box every turn. If your dice don't fit anything useful, you "scratch" a box by writing 0 in it.

Once a box is filled it can't be changed or used again. When everyone has filled all 13 boxes, add up the upper section, the bonus and the lower section. The highest total wins.

The upper section: Ones to Sixes

Each upper box scores only the dice showing that number. Roll 5, 5, 5, 2, 1 and score it in Fives, and you get 15. The 2 and the 1 don't count.

The upper bonus is worth 35 points when your Ones to Sixes add up to at least 63. 63 is exactly three of each number, which makes a handy target: if you score four 6s (24) instead of three, you are 6 ahead and can afford to fall short elsewhere, say with only one 3 in Threes.

The lower section: kinds, straights and chance

The lower boxes score combinations. Some score the total of all five dice, others a fixed amount.

Two details catch people out. First, 3 of a kind and 4 of a kind score all five dice, not just the matching ones: 4, 4, 4, 6, 2 is worth 20. Second, a large straight also counts as a small straight, and a 3 of a kind box accepts four or five of a kind too.

The Yahtzee bonus and the joker rule

Your first Yahtzee normally goes in the Yahtzee box for 50 points. If you roll another one later:

• If your Yahtzee box has 50 in it, you get a 100-point Yahtzee bonus. There is no limit: each extra Yahtzee is another 100.
• If you scratched the Yahtzee box (a 0), there is no bonus.
• Either way, you still have to fill a box that turn, using the joker rule below.

Under the published rules, the extra Yahtzee is placed like this:

1. The matching upper box first. Five 4s go in Fours (20) if Fours is still empty.
2. If that box is filled, any open lower box. Here the Yahtzee is a "joker": Full house scores 25, Small straight 30 and Large straight 40, even though the dice don't make those shapes. 3 of a kind, 4 of a kind and Chance score the total of the dice as usual.
3. If the lower section is full too, scratch any open upper box with a 0.

A worked scorecard

Without the extra Yahtzee, this game would have scored 253, which is a strong score. The highest possible score is 1,575, but that needs a Yahtzee in all 13 rounds.

Keeping score on a phone

A paper pad runs out, and the bonus is easy to forget. In Score Keeper, choose the Five Dice sheet when you start a game. It has the same 13 boxes, with a column for each player:

• Tap a box to score it. Upper boxes offer only the possible scores (for Fours: 0, 4, 8, 12, 16 or 20), fixed boxes offer the score or a scratch, and Chance and the kinds take any total from 5 to 30.
• The upper bonus of 35 is added for you as soon as a player's upper boxes reach 63.
• The Yahtzee box is called 5 of a kind on the sheet. Once it holds 50, the 5 of a kind bonus row adds 100 each time you tap it.
• Undo takes back the last box, and you can tap a filled box to correct it.

When the last box is filled, the winner screen shows the final standings, and you can share the result as a card. Score Keeper doesn't roll dice, so play with real ones. It's free, works offline, and keeps up to 3 saved games. Score Keeper Pro ($1.99 once) adds unlimited saved games, player stats, your own presets and colour themes.

Tips for a higher score

• Chase the upper bonus. 35 points is more than a full house. Three of each number gets you there.
• Keep Chance for emergencies. It's the one box that takes anything, so it rescues a bad turn late in the game.
• Scratch wisely. If you have to put a 0 somewhere, Ones costs the least. Late in the game, scratching Yahtzee or Large straight can be the sensible choice.
• Go for straights with the middle numbers. 3 and 4 appear in every small straight, so keep them when you're building one.

Common scoring mistakes

• Counting every die in an upper box. Fives scores only the 5s.
• Counting only the matching dice in 3 or 4 of a kind. Those boxes score all five dice.
• Forgetting the upper bonus, or adding it when the total is 62.
• Giving a 100 bonus after the Yahtzee box was scratched. The bonus needs a 50 in that box.
• Scoring in two boxes in one turn, or skipping a turn. It's always exactly one box.