How many rolls do I get per turn in Yatzy?

Three at most. You roll all five dice, then choose which to keep and reroll the others up to twice more. You can stop and score at any point.

What is the upper bonus and how do I get it?

Score 63 or more across Ones through Sixes and you earn an extra 35 points. 63 is three of each face, so banking three 4s, three 5s and so on keeps you exactly on pace.

Can I practise Yatzy against a computer for free?

Yes — TimeWellLost's Yatzy is free in the browser against two opponents, with a coach that names the best dice to keep and the box it is aiming at.

Learn Yatzy

Learn Yatzy: A Beginner's Guide

Yatzy is a dice game of five dice and thirteen turns. Each turn you roll, keep the dice you like, and reroll the rest up to three rolls in all — then you must write the result into one of thirteen boxes on your scorecard. Every box can be used only once, and that is the whole game: not the luck of the dice, but which box you spend a hand on.

▶ Play Yatzy free — learn by doing

How a game works, step by step

Setup. You play against two opponents, thirteen turns each — one turn per box on the card.
Rolling. Roll all five dice. Choose any to keep, reroll the rest, and repeat: three rolls per turn at most. You may stop early and score after the first or second roll.
Scoring a turn. Pick one empty box and write what your dice make there. If they make nothing for that box you still score it — as a zero. Every turn fills exactly one box.
The upper section. Ones through Sixes each score the sum of that face only: three 4s in Fours is 12. Reach 63 or more across the six upper boxes and you earn a +35 bonus — 63 is exactly three of each face, so anything you bank below that average has to be made up elsewhere.
The lower section. Three of a Kind and Four of a Kind score the sum of all five dice. Full House (three alike plus a pair) is a flat 25, Small Straight (four in a row) 30, Large Straight (five in a row) 40, Yatzy (all five alike) 50, and Chance is simply the sum of all five, whatever they are.
Winning. After thirteen turns every box is full. Highest total — upper section, bonus and lower section together — takes the game.

A worked example

You roll 5-5-5-2-1 on your last roll and both Chance and Threes are still open. Chance would bank 18 immediately; Threes would bank a 0. The 18 looks obviously right and is usually wrong. Chance is the best dumping ground on the card and is worth around 26 if you keep it for a hand that has nowhere else to go, while Threes is worth about 10 at most — so spending Chance on an 18 quietly costs you the difference. The question is never "what scores most this turn?" but "what is each box still worth if I leave it open?" That is exactly the calculation the in-game coach runs.

Five mistakes every beginner makes

Spending Chance early. It is the card’s safety net — the box that rescues a hand which fits nowhere else.
Chasing Yatzy. Five alike pays 50, but hunting it burns rerolls that a straight or the upper bonus would have used better.
Losing the +35 bonus by a point or two. It needs a three-of-each average; falling one short of 63 pays nothing at all.
Taking a zero in a big lower box when a small upper score was available — a 0 in Large Straight costs far more than 6 in Threes.
Keeping a pair out of habit when four to an open-ended straight is the stronger hand.

Glossary

Upper section: Ones through Sixes — each scores the sum of that face only.
Upper bonus: A +35 reward for scoring 63 or more across the six upper boxes.
Full House: Three of one number plus a pair of another. Scores a flat 25.
Straight: Consecutive faces — four in a row scores 30, five in a row 40.
Chance: A box that accepts any five dice and scores their sum. The safety net.
Scratch: Writing a 0 into a box because the dice make nothing for it.

Learning FAQ

How many rolls do I get per turn in Yatzy?: Three at most. You roll all five dice, then choose which to keep and reroll the others up to twice more. You can stop and score at any point.
What is the upper bonus and how do I get it?: Score 63 or more across Ones through Sixes and you earn an extra 35 points. 63 is three of each face, so banking three 4s, three 5s and so on keeps you exactly on pace.
Can I practise Yatzy against a computer for free?: Yes — TimeWellLost's Yatzy is free in the browser against two opponents, with a coach that names the best dice to keep and the box it is aiming at.

Ready to try?

The fastest way to learn Yatzy is a real game with the card kept for you: play Yatzy free at TimeWellLost — the coach names the best keep and explains what it is chasing, so the reasoning is visible while you learn.