Yatzy Yahtzee Yams Classic Edition brings the dice game your family has been arguing about since the 1950s into a clean, browser-friendly format.
Five dice, three rolls per turn, and a scorecard that rewards both luck and strategy - the same satisfying push-your-luck calculus that made Yahtzee a household name.
You get three rolls. After each roll you choose which dice to keep and which to re-roll. After the third roll (or earlier if you're satisfied) you commit the result to one row of your scorecard.
The trick is deciding which row to fill - a poor fit there might be worse than a poor fit elsewhere, and you can't reuse a category once it's scored.
The upper section (ones through sixes) gives you a 35-point bonus if you total 63 or more, which usually means scoring at least three of each number.
The lower section rewards specific combinations - three-of-a-kind, four-of-a-kind, full house, small and large straights, Yahtzee (five of a kind, worth 50 points), and a chance row that takes whatever you have.
The hardest decisions aren't on the dice - they're on the scorecard. Should you take a mediocre full house now or hope for a better one later? Should you bank a 3-of-a-kind in the chance row or wait for a stronger result?
The game keeps these choices in front of you constantly.
It runs in any modern browser via HTML5, no download or sign-up required. Works on Chromebooks, school computers, library PCs, and any modern phone or tablet. Touch controls feel particularly natural for dice games - tap to select, tap to roll.
It's a great game to keep in a browser tab for downtime.
Click the roll button to throw all five dice. After each roll, click any dice you want to keep before rolling again - you get up to three rolls per turn.
When you're done rolling, click a row on the scorecard to commit the dice to that category. Once a category is filled, it can't be reused, so choose carefully. Play through all 13 rows to finish a game.
Aim for the Upper Bonus First - Scoring at least three of each number on the upper section earns 35 bonus points; this discipline often decides close games.
Don't Waste Yahtzees on Chance - If you roll a Yahtzee, score it in the Yahtzee category for 50 points; using it as Chance throws away the bonus.
Fill Hard Categories Early - Large Straight and small straight are the easiest categories to leave for last and then fail; attempt them while you have rolls to spare.
The Chance Row Is for Bad Luck - Don't burn the chance category early; save it for the turn where nothing else fits.
Know When to Stop Rolling - Sometimes a guaranteed full house beats a one-in-six shot at four of a kind; banking the certain result is often the better play.
