Yahtzee Review: choose the best combination and score the most points!

The story of Yahtzee begins at sea. Originally, the game wasn't invented by a large company or inside an office. It was created by a wealthy Canadian couple who owned a yacht. They played an early version with their guests while sailing, simply calling it The Yacht Game.

In 1956, they asked toy manufacturer Edwin Lowe to produce some sets, as gifts for friends. Edwin Lowe saw potential in the game and bought the rights from the couple.

However, Lowe didn't pay for the game's rights in cash; instead, he gave the couple 1,000 copies of the game, so they could continue to gift them to their friends. With the deal confirmed, Lowe changed the game's name to Yahtzee (a variation of Yacht).

Yahtzee started a flop, but when people started playing it, word of mouth spread so strongly that the game became a global phenomenon.

Now it's your turn to experience Yahtzee. Let's play!

Yahtzee is a 1-to-10 players game, age 8+, by designer Edwin Lowe. Art by Michael Graves and Peyo.

Yahtzee was released in 1956 by the E. S. Lowe Company, and officially released in Brazil in 2009 through Hasbro. Its mechanics include: collecting sets, paper and pen, dice rolling, pushing your luck, and rerolls.

Yahtzee is considered a classic, with over 50 million units sold all around the world.

Let's play!

Playing the Game

Yahtzee is a classic game, also known as "Dice Poker". The idea is to roll the 5 dice to get combinations and achieve the highest total score. On your turn, roll the dice up to 3 times, choosing which ones to reroll according to your strategy; that is, mix luck and strategy to try to maximize your points in each of the 13 possible categories.

Examples of categories are: three of a kind, four of a kind, straight, full house, and the highest scoring one, the five of a kind... or rather, the Yahtzee!

Yahtzee's setup is quite simple:

- Give each player a scoring token;

- Each player rolls the 5 dice; whoever has the highest sum becomes the starting player;

- Give this player the 5 dice and the dice cup.

The turn is also relatively simple, but highly strategic. After all, you will be seeking the best result in one of 13 possible categories:

- roll the dice;

- if necessary, roll them again up to 2 more times;

- you can, if you wish, keep some dice results between re-rolls according, to your strategy;

- you can even choose not to use the 2nd and/or 3rd re-roll option if the expected result is achieved;

- after deciding to use the dice result, record your score in the specific area of ​​the Score Sheet

The core of the game is to find the perfect combination of dice results to achieve the highest possible score. These categories are divided into two Sections: the Upper and the Lower. The combination of scores in the two Sections generates your final score.

The Upper Section has 6 of the 13 categories, namely:

- One: mark the sum of the dice values ​​with the number 1;

- Two: mark the sum of the dice values ​​with the number 2;

- Three: mark the sum of the dice values ​​with the number 3;

- Four: mark the sum of the dice values ​​with the number 4;

- Five: mark the sum of the dice values ​​with the number 5;

- Six: mark the sum of the dice values ​​with the number 6.

Your goal in the Upper Section is to reach, or exceed, 64 points in the sum of the 6 categories, because, with that, you will earn 35 Bonus points in this Section.

The Lower Section contains 7 of the 13 categories, namely:

- Three of a Kind: if you have 3 dice with the same value, add the total of the 5 dice here;

- Four of a Kind: if you have 4 dice with the same value, add the total of the 5 dice here;

- Full House: if you have a pair and a three of a kind, mark 25 points here;

- Lesser Sequence: if you have 4 dice in sequence, mark 30 points here;

- Higher Sequence: if you have 5 dice in sequence, write 40 points here;

- Yahtzee: if you have 5 dice with the same value, that is, a five of a kind, mark 50 points here;

- Chance: write the sum of the 5 dice here.

If you happen to get a Yahtzee and have already scored in the Yahtzee space, you earn a 100-point Bonus. Illustrate this by marking a checkmark in the Yahtzee Bonus space, and take a Bonus token.

Regarding the Yahtzee Bonus, after noting Bonuses and taking the sheet, activate the Wildcard Rule, which is simply this:

- with the Yahtzee result, fill in one of the fields in the Upper Section;

- if the corresponding space is already filled, the Wildcard Rule allows you to score in any space in the Lower Section.

In practice, if you made a Yahtzee Bonus with five number 5 on the dice, you can still score 25 points in space Five of the Upper Section. If this space has already scored, score in any space in the Lower Section. Obviously, you will choose to score where you get the most points, in the Maximum Sequence, which gives 40 points.

Finally, regarding the Yahtzee Bonus, it's possible that the corresponding space in the Upper Section is already filled, and all spaces in the Lower Section are also filled. In this specific case, write a zero down in any other free space in the Upper Section.

That's a Yahtzee turn! Now it's the turn of the player to your left.

Ending the Game

After all players have filled the 13 possible spaces, the game ends. Each player adds up their score as follows:

UPPER SECTION:

- Add up the scores from the Upper Section and mark the total in the Total Score space;

- If this total is 63 points or more, mark 35 points in the Bonus space;

- Mark the sum of these two fields in the Total space of the Top Section.

LOWER SECTION:

- sum the scores in this section;

- add 100 points for each Yahtzee Bonus;

- mark the sum in the Total space in the Bottom Section.

OVERALL POINTS

- add both upper and lower actions;

- mark the result in the "TOTAL" space.

And that wraps it up! Whoever has the most points, wins!

Don't be fooled into thinking that Yahtzee is just luck; there's a lot of strategy involved.

Always focus on the Upper Section, and this is easily explained because when you do this, you can score well. You can also guarantee a Bonus Section, or achieve a Yahtzee, or even a Yahtzee Bonus. The advantages are enormous.

For example, if you roll 3 dice with the number 5 on your first roll, there are many possibilities:

- you've already guaranteed 15 points in space 5;

- you've already started a three-of-a-kind, maybe a four-of-a-kind;

- a good path to the Yahtzee.

The Lower Section, and I say from experience, just happens naturally. I recommend focusing on it after the second dice roll, when you notice that something in the Upper Section isn't going to work because it's already full, or when the first roll is already heading towards the Minimum Sequence with 4 dice, for example, and then, who knows, the Maximum Sequence then shows up the next rolls.

Honestly, the Lower Section can be completed with a good initial roll, or even by the Wildcard Rule, resulting from a Yahtzee Bonus. Leave this section to be filled strategically, at the ideal timing. With these tips, you'll know the right time!

Some professional players often say that the secret isn't in pursuing Yahtzee at all costs, but rather in knowing when to "sacrifice" a difficult category to guarantee the 35-point bonus in the Upper Section. It's like they read my article already!

Pay close attention to the game, check out where your opponents have already scored, keep track of that; it can be crucial for your strategic decisions about which dice to keep and which dice to re-roll. Game vision is everything!

So, as already mentioned, it's all a matter of strategy and timing. Combine the two and win at Yahtzee.

Yahtzee is a game that can be taught in 1 minute, and it entertains everyone, in addition to providing excellent stimulation for children. It's an easy game, playable anywhere and in any space, and doesn't "consume" table space like traditional board games.

The kids will be thrilled as soon as the dice are rolled. Some use the game cup and shake it as much as they can before releasing the dice to the table, others prefer to hold them in their hands and "blow" on the dice for good luck. It doesn't matter, the fact is that everyone has their own special "ritual".

After rolling the dice, there's the famous "good tension" about the result. Those who use the cup turn it upside down on the table and slowly raise the cup to see, without any hurry, the result of the dice, enhancing the "tension" of the moment. These will be fun moments to remember later.

With this, several important stimuli now come into play:

- Resource management: managing the result of the dice obtained;

- Strategy: focusing on which section to score points;

- Decision making: keeping some dice and rolling the others a 2nd or 3rd time;

- Logical-mathematical reasoning: calculating the points for each result.

Yahtzee will create fond memories of good laughs, good times, and the feeling of always wanting to be together having fun in an easy way.

Pedagogically, Yahtzee addresses resource management, stimulates strategy, decision-making, logical-mathematical reasoning, and on top of that, it's fun!

I recommend Yahtzee for your collection!