Yatzy is a public domain dice game, similar to the Latin American game Generala

Generala

Generala or sometimes Dados , is a dice game similar to the English game of poker dice, the Polish game Jacy-Tacy and the American game Yahtzee. Although it is sometimes played in Europe and the United States, Generala is most popular in Latin America.- Rules :Generala is a game played by two or...

, the English game of Poker Dice

Poker dice

Poker dice are dice which, instead of having number pips, have representations of playing cards upon them. Poker dice have six sides, one each of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, ten and nine, and are used to form a poker hand....

, the Yacht (dice game)

Yacht (dice game)

Yacht is a public domain dice game, similar to the Latin American game Generala, the English game of Poker Dice, the scandinavian Yatzy, and the Cheerio . It is also known as the predecessor of Yahtzee ....

, the Cheerio (dice game)  and Yahtzee

Yahtzee

Yahtzee is a dice game made by Milton Bradley , which was first marketed by game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe in 1956. The game is a development of earlier dice games, such as Yacht and Generala. The object of the game is to score the most points by rolling five dice to make certain combinations...

 (trademarked by Hasbro

Hasbro

Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 ). Yatzy is most popular in the Scandinavian countries.

Gameplay

Yatzy can be played solitaire

Solitaire

Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself or with other people. The solitaire card game Klondike is often known as simply Solitaire....

or by any number players. Players take turns rolling five dice. After each roll, the player chooses which dice to keep, and which to reroll. A player may reroll some or all of the dice up to two times on a turn. The player with the highest total score wins the game.

Scoring

The following combinations earn points:

Upper Section:

• Ones: The sum of all dice showing the number 1.
• Twos: The sum of all dice showing the number 2.
• Threes: The sum of all dice showing the number 3.
• Fours: The sum of all dice showing the number 4.
• Fives: The sum of all dice showing the number 5.
• Sixes: The sum of all dice showing the number 6.

If a player manages to score at least 63 points (three of each number) in the upper section, she is awarded a bonus of 50 points (in some instances 25 or 35).

Lower Section:

• One Pair: Two dice showing the same number. Score: Sum of those two dice.
• Two Pairs: Two pairs of dice. Score: Sum of dice in those two pairs.
• Three of a Kind: Three dice showing the same number. Score: Sum of those three dice.
• Four of a Kind: Four dice with the same number. Score: Sum of those four dice.
• Small Straight: The combination 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Score: 15 points (sum of all the dice).
• Large Straight: The combination 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Score: 20 points (sum of all the dice).
• House: Any set of three combined with a set of two. Score: Sum of all the dice.
• Yatzy: All five dice with the same number. Score: 50 points.
• Chance: Any combination of dice. Score: Sum of all the dice.

In some instances the sets in Two Pairs and House must have different numbers, i.e. the combination 5, 5, 6, 6 will constitute Two Pairs, but 5, 5, 5, 5 will not. In other instances they may be equal.

Forced Yatzy

In this variant the players must score in exactly the same sequence as listed above, i.e. Ones first, then Twos, and so on. The requirement for upper section bonus is reduced to 42 (two of each number).

Maxi Yatzy

This variant is played with 6 dice. Here the Yatzy-combination is removed and the following combinations are added to the lower section:

• Three Pairs: Three pairs of dice. Score: Sum of all the dice.
• Five of a Kind: Five dice with the same number. Score: Sum of those five dice.
• Full Straight: The combination 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Score: 21 points (sum of all the dice).
• Castle: Two sets of three dice showing the same number. Score: Sum of all the dice.
• Tower: A set of four combined with a set of two. Score: Sum of all the dice.
• Maxi Yatzy: All six dice with the same number. Score: 100 points.

Also, upper section score requires 84 points (four of each) to get the bonus, here 100 points.