How to Score Yahtzee: Every Box, the Bonus and the Joker Rule
Yahtzee is thirteen rounds, five dice, three rolls a round, and thirteen boxes you have to fill exactly once each. The scoring looks simple written down and gets argued about at almost every table, usually over two things: the upper section bonus and what a second Yahtzee is worth.
Here is the whole thing.
The upper section
Six boxes, one per number. Each scores the sum of that number only.
| Box | Scores |
|---|---|
| Ones | 1 per one |
| Twos | 2 per two |
| Threes | 3 per three |
| Fours | 4 per four |
| Fives | 5 per five |
| Sixes | 6 per six |
Then the rule that decides most games: if your upper section reaches 63, you get a 35 point bonus.
63 is not arbitrary. It is three of a kind in every box: three ones, three twos, three threes and so on. That is the benchmark. Every box where you take fewer than three has to be paid back somewhere above.
This is why experienced players will take four sixes into the Sixes box rather than into Four of a Kind. The bonus is worth more than the difference.
The lower section
Seven boxes, and they do not all work the same way. Three score the sum of your dice, four score a fixed value.
| Box | Requirement | Scores |
|---|---|---|
| Three of a kind | Three matching dice | Sum of all five dice |
| Four of a kind | Four matching dice | Sum of all five dice |
| Full house | Three of one, two of another | 25 |
| Small straight | Four in sequence | 30 |
| Large straight | Five in sequence | 40 |
| Yahtzee | Five matching dice | 50 |
| Chance | Anything | Sum of all five dice |
The trap is Three and Four of a Kind. They score the sum of all five dice, not the sum of the matching ones. Four sixes and a one is 25, not 24.
Chance is the escape hatch, and the box you should try hardest not to spend early.
Extra Yahtzees
The rule that causes the most trouble. If you roll a second Yahtzee after already filling the Yahtzee box with 50, you score a bonus of 100 points for each extra, up to four.
Braggster handles this differently from the paper sheet, and better. Rather than adding a separate bonus row, the Yahtzee box itself offers the whole ladder:
0, 50, 150, 250, 350, 450
That is the base 50 plus 100 per extra Yahtzee. One box, one number, no arithmetic on the side, and no risk of the bonus row being forgotten when totals are added.
The Joker rule
An extra Yahtzee still has to be scored somewhere, and the Joker rule says where.
- If the matching upper box is free, you must use it. Five fours into the Fours box scores 20.
- If it is already filled, you may use any lower section box. Under the Joker rule a Yahtzee
counts as a full house (25), a small straight (30) or a large straight (40) even though the dice are not actually a straight.
- If both are gone, you take a zero in an upper box.
That second clause is the whole point of calling it a Joker: five identical dice are allowed to pretend to be a straight.
Yahtzee around the world
The game travels under different names, and the scoring is essentially the same in each:
- Kniffel in Germany
- Yams in France
- Generala in Argentina, with some rule differences around the straights
Braggster ships one scorecard covering the family, in all seven app languages.
The scorecard, sized to your table
Two design details matter once you have more than three players:
Columns compress to fit. Every player fits on the screen rather than forcing you to scroll sideways and lose track of whose column you are in.
The header stays pinned. Name and photo stay visible while the rows scroll, and column rules separate the players, so the fifth row down is still obviously the fifth player's.
The rules screen carries the full category reference chart, so nobody has to remember whether a full house is 25 or a sum.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get the Yahtzee bonus? Score 63 or more in the upper section and you get 35 points. The benchmark is three of each number.
What is a second Yahtzee worth? 100 points, up to four extras, on top of the original 50. In Braggster this is banked in the Yahtzee box itself as 150, 250, 350 or 450.
Does three of a kind score just the three dice? No. It scores the sum of all five dice. This is the most commonly misplayed box on the sheet.
What happens if I roll a Yahtzee but the box is already zeroed? If you took a zero in the Yahtzee box, no bonus applies. The Joker rule still governs where the dice get scored.
Is Kniffel the same as Yahtzee? Effectively yes, and the same scorecard covers both, along with Yams and the Generala family.
More: browse every game at braggster.com/games, or read the overview of dice game scoring.
Yahtzee is a trademark of its publisher. Braggster is not affiliated with or endorsed by them and the name is used referentially only.