Play Yahtzee Online
Roll five dice, choose your best scoring categories, and play a full game with friends or bots right in the browser.
Can you play Yahtzee online for free with friends?
Yes. Open a lobby, share the four-digit code, and up to four of you play in real time – free, in the browser, with a guest name instead of an account. Short mode runs nine scoring categories, classic runs all fifteen, and a bot can fill an empty seat.
What is Yahtzee?
Yahtzee is a dice game for one to four players: roll five dice, keep the ones that help and write the result into one box of your scorecard. A new lobby opens in short mode with nine categories, classic mode plays all fifteen, and the highest total wins.
The card is Yatzy-style, with the Scandinavian One Pair and Two Pairs rows, while Full House, both straights and Yahtzee pay a fixed 25, 30, 40 and 50 points.
How to play
- 1Create or join a lobbyStart a room from the lobbies page or enter a friend's four-digit code. The host sets the mode, the seats and the turn timer.
- 2Roll the diceYou get up to three rolls a turn. Tap the dice you want to hold and throw the rest again.
- 3Pick a scoreAfter at least one roll, pick an empty box. Once filled, it stays closed for the rest of the game.
- 4Finish the scorecardPlay goes around until every box is filled. Then the highest total takes the game.
Yahtzee rules
- 1Each turn allows up to three rolls, and between rolls you choose which dice to hold.
- 2At least one roll is required before scoring, but you may stop after the first or the second.
- 3Every turn ends with a score. If nothing fits, a zero in an open box is legal.
- 4Each box takes one result per game, zero included, and cannot be changed afterwards.
- 5Yahtzee pays 50 once. A second five of a kind earns no bonus and has to go in another row.
- 6In classic mode, 63 or more in Ones to Sixes adds 35 points. Short mode has no bonus.
- 7The game ends when every scorecard is full, and the highest total, bonus included, wins.
- 8If the turn timer runs out, the game plays out your turn and scores it for you.
Yahtzee scoring
Upper Section
Classic mode only: 63 or more across these rows adds a 35-point bonus. Three of each face is exactly 63.
- OnesTarget 3
All ones, added up.
- TwosTarget 6
All twos, added up.
- ThreesTarget 9
All threes, added up.
- FoursTarget 12
All fours, added up.
- FivesTarget 15
All fives, added up.
- SixesTarget 18
All sixes, added up.
Lower Section
Short mode plays only these nine rows.
- One PairUp to 12
Your highest pair, both dice added.
- Two PairsUp to 22
Two different pairs added; four alike does not count.
- Three of a KindSum of all dice
Three or more alike, all five dice counted.
- Four of a KindSum of all dice
Four or more alike, all five dice counted.
- Full House25 points
Exactly three of one value and two of another; five alike is not a full house.
- Small Straight30 points
Four in a row: 1-2-3-4, 2-3-4-5 or 3-4-5-6.
- Large Straight40 points
Five in a row: 1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6.
- Yahtzee50 points
Five of a kind, scored once.
- ChanceSum of all dice
Any five dice, no condition.
Modes and settings
- Short mode, the default
Nine turns each, lower section only – about 40 percent shorter than a full card.
- Classic mode
All fifteen rows, with the number rows and the 35-point bonus in play.
- Turn timer
30, 60, 90 or 120 seconds a turn; 60 unless the host changes it.
- Bots
Dice Rookie, Dice Strategist and Dice Oracle take empty seats or play you one on one.
Yahtzee strategy
- 1.Play for the bonus in classic
Three of each face reaches 63, and a fourth five or six covers a weak row elsewhere.
- 2.Keep dice for one plan
After the first roll, pick one target and re-roll every die that does not serve it.
- 3.Chase fifty with rolls to spare
Four alike after the first roll, or three with two rolls left, is worth the push.
- 4.Once the Yahtzee box is full
Put a further five of a kind in Four of a Kind or Chance for the full sum.
- 5.Large straight first
Four in a row gives two shots at 40, and the same dice still fit the 30-point small one.
- 6.Full House is steady
Hold two pairs and re-roll the odd die: three-and-two turns up often.
- 7.Bank Four of a Kind
Four high dice already make a strong sum, so roll on only while Yahtzee is open.
- 8.Save Chance
It accepts any roll, which makes it the safety net for a turn that fits nowhere.
Common mistakes
- Gambling on the last roll
Three alike with one roll left seldom becomes five; take the points on the table.
- Zeroing a big box
A zero costs little in Ones or One Pair, and forty or fifty in Large Straight or Yahtzee.
- Losing the bonus pace
A few rows one die short can miss 63 by a point and cost all 35.
- Scoring the roll, not the card
The biggest number this turn may burn a row you will need later.
Playing together online
- With friends
Share the code or the link, and every roll and score shows on each screen live.
- Bots and solo
Give an empty seat to a bot, or use Play vs Bot above for a one-on-one game.
- The turn timer
An idle turn is scored when time runs out, and a player who leaves drops out of the rotation.
- No account, no install
A guest name is enough, in any browser on a phone, tablet or computer.
Why play Yahtzee on Boardly?
- Live multiplayer with turns updating for everyone.
- Bots are available when friends are offline.
- Works on phone, tablet, and desktop.
- Free to play as a guest.
Who it suits
Yahtzee suits families, mixed ages and friends who rarely play board games: the rules take a minute, yet planning for the bonus still rewards regulars.
Where Yahtzee comes from
Yahtzee was launched in the United States in 1956 by the toy maker Edwin S. Lowe and is now a Hasbro trademark. Boardly's pair rows come from Yatzy, its Nordic cousin.
It was also the first game on Boardly, begun as a school assignment from my teacher Tarald – the push to finally build a site I had planned for years.
Questions about Yahtzee on Boardly
- Is Yahtzee on Boardly free?
- Yes. Both modes, the bots and private lobbies cost nothing; Premium only adds cosmetic extras such as a custom avatar photo and never changes the game.
- Is there a Yahtzee bot?
- Yes, at three levels: Dice Rookie, Dice Strategist and Dice Oracle. Start a solo game with Play vs Bot, or add bots to your own lobby.
- What happens when the turn timer runs out?
- Your turn is finished for you: one roll if you had not rolled yet, then the open category that pays most, or a zero in the cheapest box.
- Is this Yatzy or Yahtzee?
- Both. The pair rows come from Scandinavian Yatzy, while the straights, Full House and five of a kind pay the fixed American amounts.
- Are the dice fair?
- Yes. Our server rolls every die and ignores any number a browser sends, so each face has a one-in-six chance. The end of each game shows how often every face came up.
- Do I need an account?
- No. A guest name lets you create or join a lobby and play bots. A guest who has played is kept for 90 days of inactivity; sign up to keep your profile for good.
- Does it work on a phone?
- Yes. Tap a die to hold it and a category to score; on small screens the dice and the scorecard sit on separate tabs.
- How many people can play?
- One to four per game, with friends, bots or both filling the seats. More players means a longer game.
New to Yahtzee? Read the rules and how to play.