Pocket Games
Yatzy
Five dice, three rolls per turn, thirteen boxes to be filled once each. At the end of every turn you must write something down, even a zero: the game is nearly always decided by which box you agree to throw away.
How a turn works
Five dice, three rolls. After the first roll you choose which dice to keep and reroll the rest; after the second, the same again. Then you must record the result in one of the thirteen boxes still open, even if it scores zero. When every box is full, the game ends.
On Pocket Games you play against the bot at three levels, or against another person on the same phone. Your best score is saved for each difficulty.
The scoring table
Upper section. Six boxes, one per face: Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, Sixes. Each scores the sum of the dice showing that face. Three fives score 15 in the Fives box.
This is where the bonus lives: if the six upper boxes add up to 63 or more, you get 35 points free. 63 is the figure you reach by recording exactly three dice in each box (three ones, three twos, three threes and so on). Every time you record four you bank some margin; every time you record two you spend it.
Lower section. Seven combinations:
- Three of a kind: scores the sum of all five dice.
- Four of a kind: again the sum of all the dice.
- Full house (three of a kind plus a pair): a flat 25 points.
- Small straight (four consecutive): a flat 30 points.
- Large straight (five consecutive): a flat 40 points.
- Yatzy (five of a kind): 50 points.
- Chance: the sum of the dice, always valid. This is the dumping ground.
Strategy
The bonus is worth as much as a large straight. Thirty-five points is enormous in a game that lands around 200-250. The practical rule is to keep track of your margin: after recording an upper box, ask whether you are above or below the pace of three dice per box. If you are well below, stop chasing the bonus and use the upper section for your sacrifices.
Three of a kind and four of a kind score everything. Four twos is barely 10 points; three sixes is over 20. Not all combinations are equal: a four of a kind made of low dice is nearly always a mediocre score you record reluctantly.
Save Chance for the end. It is the only box that cannot score zero, and it is your safety net for a turn gone wrong. Burning it on turn two for 22 points is the classic mistake you pay for at the end.
Sacrifice the Ones. When you have to throw a turn away — and you will — the cheapest box is Ones: you lose 5 points at most, against 30 for a small straight or 50 for a Yatzy. Twos come next.
When in doubt, go for straights. With four different dice in hand, rerolling the last one for the large straight is often worth more than settling: the small straight stays as a fallback, and together they are 70 points.
Do not reroll a pair of sixes chasing a Yatzy. The chance of five of a kind across a whole game is around 4-5%: you take it when it comes, you do not hunt it.
Frequently asked questions
What does a typical game score?
Between 180 and 240, and that spread is almost entirely the upper section bonus: taking it or missing it is a flat 35 points. Going past 300 takes a Yatzy.
What are the odds of a Yatzy?
About 4.6% in a single three-roll turn played for it. Roughly one game in twenty.
What is the difference between Yatzy and Yahtzee?
They are cousins: American Yahtzee has bonuses for multiple Yahtzees and the joker rules, Scandinavian Yatzy — the one implemented here — does not. The thirteen boxes and the 35-point bonus are the same.
Do I have to record something every turn?
Yes, and that is the heart of the game. When no box is good, you pick the one that costs least to lose: usually the Ones.
More games to try
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