Yahtzee scoring and the Joker rule

Yahtzee scoring is simple until a second Yahtzee arrives. This guide follows Hasbro’s Classic scorecard, including the Joker rule. Other games called Yatzy or Triple Yahtzee use different scorecards.

One box per turn, every turn

You may roll up to three times, then you must fill exactly one empty box. If the roll suits nothing, you still fill a box and write zero. The game has 13 boxes, so it lasts 13 turns per player.

A roll can qualify for several boxes. It fills only the one you choose, so the real decision is which box to spend.

Upper section

Add only the dice showing the box’s number. With 4-4-4-6-2, Fours scores 12, Sixes scores 6 and Twos scores 2.

The bonus is 35 points if the six upper boxes total at least 63. That is exactly three of each number, but Hasbro notes that any combination of scores totalling 63 or more earns it.

For example, boxes of 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 total 63, so add 35 for an upper section of 98. Only Aces through Sixes count toward 63; nothing from the lower section helps.

Lower section

Box	Requirement	Score
Three of a kind	At least three equal dice	Total of all 5 dice
Four of a kind	At least four equal dice	Total of all 5 dice
Full house	Three of one number, two of another	25
Small straight	Any sequence of four numbers	30
Large straight	Any sequence of five numbers	40
Yahtzee	Five equal dice	50
Chance	Any five dice	Total of all 5 dice

For three and four of a kind, add all five dice, not only the matching ones. 4-4-4-6-2 scores 20 in Three of a Kind.

Outside the Joker rule, five equal dice are not a full house, because a full house needs two different numbers.

The Yahtzee bonus

If you roll another Yahtzee after already scoring 50 in the Yahtzee box, you earn a 100-point Yahtzee bonus. Then you must still fill one of the 13 boxes according to the Joker rule below.

If the Yahtzee box holds zero, later Yahtzees earn no bonus. You must still place the dice under the Joker rule.

The Joker rule

When you roll an extra Yahtzee, place it in this order:

1. Matching upper box open: score the total of all five dice there. Five 4s score 20 in Fours.
2. Matching upper box filled: score in any open lower box. Three of a Kind, Four of a Kind and Chance score the dice total. Full House scores 25, Small Straight 30 and Large Straight 40, even though the dice do not form those combinations.
3. Matching upper box and every lower box filled: you must write zero in any open upper box.

Worked examples

Bonus and forced upper box. You already have 50 in Yahtzee and roll five 4s. Fours is open, so you score 20 there and mark the 100-point bonus. Total gain: 120.

Upper box filled. Same roll, but Fours is already filled and Large Straight is open. Score 40 there, plus the 100-point bonus. You may choose any open lower box; Large Straight is worth the most.

Zero in the Yahtzee box. You wrote zero in Yahtzee earlier and now roll five 3s. There is no bonus. Threes is open, so you must score 15 there.

Mistakes to avoid

• Counting a bonus without the 50. The Yahtzee box must contain 50.
• Choosing a lower box while the upper box is open. The matching upper box comes first.
• Scoring five equal dice as a full house outside the Joker rule. It only qualifies through the Joker rule.
• Adding only the matching dice in Three of a Kind. Add all five.
• Leaving a turn blank. A turn that cannot score anywhere useful ends with a zero in some box.

Winning

The game ends when every player has filled all 13 boxes. Add the upper section and bonus, add the lower section, then add 100 for each valid bonus mark. The highest grand total wins. Hasbro’s Classic instructions give no special tiebreaker, so agree one beforehand or share the win.