Yacht is a classic dice game where you roll five dice up to three times a turn and fill a scorecard. Here are the rules, the scoring, and the strategy.
Yacht Dice Game History and Its Relatives
Yacht is a public domain dice game that can be traced back to at least 1938. It belongs to a family of games built on the same idea: roll five dice, keep some, reroll the rest, and score the result in a category you can use only once. Relatives include Poker Dice, the Scandinavian game Yatzy, and the Latin American game Generala.
Yahtzee is the best-known descendant. Edwin S. Lowe popularized it in the 1950s, and Yahtzee is a trademark now owned by Hasbro. Its sheet adds an upper-section bonus, a Three of a Kind box and extra rules for repeat five-of-a-kinds. Many modern games called Yacht borrow some of these additions, so check which scoring rules apply.
How to Play Yacht: Basic Rules
Each player has a scorecard. The game lasts as many rounds as there are categories, and every turn ends by filling exactly one box. The player with the highest total at the end wins.
- Roll all five dice.
- Choose any dice to keep and set them aside. Reroll the others.
- You may roll up to three times in total. You can stop early if you like the result.
- After your last roll, you must write the dice into one unused category. If they do not fit it, you score zero there.
- Pass the dice to the next player. When every box is full, add up the scores.
Yacht Scoring Categories and Regional Variants
The upper section has six boxes, Ones through Sixes. Each scores the sum of the dice showing that number. The lower section varies, but the common version is as follows. Full House (three of one number and two of another) scores the total of all five dice. Four of a Kind scores the total of just those four dice. Little Straight (1-2-3-4-5) and Big Straight (2-3-4-5-6) score a fixed 30 in the 1938 description, though some rule sets use other values. Choice scores the sum of all dice with no conditions. Yacht, five of a kind, scores 50.
That is 12 categories, and the 1938 rules have no upper-section bonus. Many modern versions add one: reach 63 points in the upper section, which equals three of each number, and you earn a bonus, commonly 35 points. Yahtzee has 13 categories, a 35-point bonus, a Large Straight worth 40, and a flat 25 for a Full House. Scandinavian Yatzy has 15 categories and commonly a 50-point bonus at 63. Generala scores a straight, full house, four of a kind and Generala at fixed values and lets players scratch boxes.
Yacht Strategy: How to Score More
These habits help most, especially under bonus rules.
- Count towards 63 early. Three of each number reaches the upper bonus, so treat three Fours as par and aim for that or better in the high boxes.
- Keep the most common number after the first roll. Pairs and triples give you the most ways to improve, and they feed Four of a Kind, Full House and Yacht.
- Do not chase a straight from a weak start. Keep four in sequence, such as 2-3-4-5, but drop a single scattered die rather than gambling on two missing numbers.
- Use Choice as your safety valve. A mediocre roll with high dice fits there without costing a harder box, so save it for an awkward turn.
- Sacrifice the least likely box first. Yacht and the straights are hard to hit, so after a bad turn put a zero in Ones or Yacht rather than wasting a good scoring box.
- Stop chasing when the target is gone. If a Yacht needs three specific dice to match on your last roll, take the safe score instead.
- Keep flexibility late. With few boxes left, track which ones remain and choose rerolls that fit several of them at once.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many dice and rolls do you get in Yacht?
You play with five six-sided dice. On each turn you may roll up to three times, setting aside any dice you want to keep between rolls. After the final roll, or sooner if you stop, you must record the result in one unused scorecard category.
Is Yacht the same as Yahtzee?
They are close relatives but not identical. Yacht came first, going back to at least 1938, and the 1938 rules have no upper bonus or Three of a Kind box. Yahtzee is a trademark and adds those features plus its own scoring and joker rules.
What is the highest-scoring category in Yacht?
Yacht, which means five dice showing the same number, is worth 50 points in the common rules. It is the hardest category to hit, so players often chase it only when they already hold three or four matching dice.
Does Yacht have an upper-section bonus?
It depends on the rule set. The 1938 description has none, but many modern versions give a bonus, often 35 points, when the Ones through Sixes boxes total at least 63. That total equals three of each number, which is why 63 is the usual target.
How do Yacht and Generala differ?
Generala, popular in Latin America, uses the same five dice and three rolls but different scoring. It has fixed values for straights, full house and four of a kind, rewards first-roll combinations with extra points, and lets players scratch a box they cannot or do not want to fill.
Will this site offer Yacht online?
Yes, a free browser version is planned for PureTable Games. We intend it to need no sign-up, to let you play with friends, and to offer a computer opponent. Until then, the rules and strategy on this page are a good way to prepare for your first game.