How the scoring works
Every turn you must fill exactly one box, even if it means writing a 0. After 13 rounds the card is full and the highest grand total wins. The sheet uses the scoring from our Yahtzee rules page.
Upper section. Aces through Sixes score only the dice showing that number: three 4s in the Fours box is 12. If the six upper boxes add up to 63 or more, you get a 35-point bonus. 63 is three of each number (3 + 6 + 9 + 12 + 15 + 18), so every box where you beat three of a kind buys slack for a box where you fall short. The small number under each subtotal shows how far you are from 63.
Lower section. Three of a kind, four of a kind and chance score the total of all five dice, not just the matching ones. Full house is always 25, small straight (four in a row) 30, large straight (five in a row) 40 and Yahtzee (five of a kind) 50.
Extra Yahtzees. Each Yahtzee after the first earns 100 bonus points if your Yahtzee box already holds 50; press + in the Yahtzee bonus row to add one. You still fill a box using the Joker rule: the matching upper box if it is empty, otherwise any open lower box at full value (full house 25, small straight 30, large straight 40), otherwise a 0 in an open upper box. The dice helper follows this rule and adds the bonus for you. If you scratched your Yahtzee box with a 0, the Joker rule still applies but there is no bonus.
Worked examples
Example 1: a second Yahtzee in round 9
Your Yahtzee box holds 50 and you roll five 4s. Your Fours box already has 12, so the Joker rule sends you to the lower section, and Large Straight is still open. Score: 100 bonus + 40 for the large straight = 140 points from one turn.
Example 2: the upper bonus
At the end of the game your upper boxes read Aces 3, Twos 6, Threes 9, Fours 12, Fives 20, Sixes 18. That adds to 3 + 6 + 9 + 12 + 20 + 18 = 68, which clears 63, so you add 35 for an upper total of 103. Had Fives been 10 instead of 20, the subtotal would be 58, five short, and the bonus would be 0.
Tips for using the score card
Type straight into a box, or use the dice helper: set the five dice, and it lists every open box with the score that roll would earn there, best first. Boxes the sheet thinks are impossible (say 20 in Full House, or 14 in Fours) turn red so a typo gets caught before the end of the game. The card is saved in your browser, so a refresh won’t wipe it.
If your family uses the free-choice Joker house rule, just type the score into the box you pick instead of using the helper. For a paper card to keep by the dice cup, print the Yahtzee printable rules.
Questions people ask
- How many points do you need for the Yahtzee upper bonus?
- You need 63 or more in the upper section (Aces through Sixes) to earn the 35-point bonus. 63 is three of each number: 3 + 6 + 9 + 12 + 15 + 18.
- What are full house, small straight and large straight worth?
- A full house is 25, a small straight (four in a row) is 30 and a large straight (five in a row) is 40. A Yahtzee is 50. Three of a kind, four of a kind and chance score the total of all five dice.
- How does the Yahtzee bonus work?
- Each extra Yahtzee after the first earns a 100-point bonus, but only if your Yahtzee box already holds 50. You still have to fill a box with the roll, following the Joker rules. If you scratched the Yahtzee box with a 0, later Yahtzees get no bonus.
- What is the Joker rule in Yahtzee?
- When you roll an extra Yahtzee, you must score it in the matching upper box if that box is empty. If it is filled, you use any open lower box, and full house, small straight and large straight score their full value. If the lower section is full too, you must write 0 in an open upper box.
- Can a Yahtzee count as a full house?
- Only as a Joker, meaning when your Yahtzee box is already filled and the matching upper box is taken. Your first Yahtzee scored in the full house box would be worth 0 under the standard rules.