Yahtzee

Yahtzee is a game played with five dice where different combinations of the dice yield different scores and placement. It is a game of both skill and chance and has been popular for many years. The name Yahtzee is trademarked by Hasbro.

Each player has up to three rolls per turn. Between rolls a player may freeze one or more die.

Scoring consists of an Upper Level and a Lower Level. In the Upper Level only die of the same number (1 through 6) are scored, and can be zeroed out. If a player scores 63 or more points (equal to three dice of each number), a 35 point bonus is awarded.

The Lower Level consists of the following scoring combinations:

• 3 of a kind: must have three dice of any number, scoring is the TOTAL amount rolled
• 4 of a kind: must have four dice of any number, scoring is the TOTAL amount rolled
• Full House: like the poker hand, must have three dice of one number and two of another, scoring is 25 points
• Small Straight: must have four dice in consecutive order (1-2-3-4, 2-3-4-5, or 3-4-5-6), scoring is 30 points
• Large Straight: must have all five dice in consecutive order (1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6), scoring is 40 points
• Yahtzee: must have all five dice of the same number, scoring is 50 points; if another Yahtzee is rolled 100 points is awarded and the roll acts as a "Joker" for any Lower Level category or can be used for the same number in the Upper Level
• Chance: total of all dice rolled, no specific requirement (this is often used as a throwaway in order to try to fill another section)