A Brief History

Yahtzee, also known as Yatzy, or the Yacht game came out in the early 1950s and was developed and introduced by an anonymous Canadian couple who played the game on their yacht with friends to pass the time at sea. They then approached game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe, to produce sets of the game for their use. Lowe is well known for introducing “Bingo” to the world, and seeing the games potential, he acquired the rights, mass produced the game, and successfully marketed it by word-of-mouth, and renaming it Yahtzee.

Yatzy Gameplay in Simple Terms

The best way to learn to play Yatzy is to dive right into it and play as much as you can to increase your knowledge and skill in the game. Yatzy/Yahtzee is a dice game where you use a set of 5 dice which you roll in order to score and try to get a number of pairing of dice (based on the amount of each), or a specific order. The rules of the game are summarized into a score sheet which is filled up at every player turn.

Depending on the result of the dice roll, like if the player gets 3 numerical pairs of dice (ex. 3 of the 5 dice are all numbered 3), the player gets a point value (which is usually more than 10) for a “three of a kind” on the score sheet. There are other requirements or categories that will provide scores, with a Yatzy (all 5 dice are of the same value), being the highest score.

The game provides flexibility as the player can remove dice from the roll to be able to get the resulting outcomes to satisfy the requirements on the score sheet. An example would be a player getting a result of 3 of the same dice (say 3 of the dice are all 5) and the last 2 dice with differing numbers. The player can then exclude the 3 number 5 dice from the last 2 more rolls and hope that the rolls produce 2 more number 5 dice so the resulting dice combination on the table are all numbered 5 by which the player gets a Yatzy.

There are usually 13 score sheet requirements and the player has to fill one of them per turn with the score depending on the resulting dice values. Each requirement can only be filled once per game, and when all the requirements are filled up, with a “zero” for those that cannot be reached, the game ends. The player with the highest score wins.

Yatzy is More Than Just Luck

The thing about Yatzy, though primarily a dice game, is that there is a strategic component to it. Of course, the player can solely rely on Lady Luck to get the desired roll results, but playing one’s game wisely translates to better chances of usually winning the game.

The first is to strategically manage the score sheet. Choosing the right and most valuable categories after one’s turn can increase the chances of getting a higher score. Each “required category” can only be chosen and scored once per game, and experienced players develop the skill in choosing their categories wisely.

Managing the dice is another important point. Each player turn consist of 3 rolls. Deciding which dice values to keep and which dice to re-roll becomes a key element in getting the desired dice combinations that will fill the requirements on the score sheet.

It is also important to keep an eye on the values of the dice after each turn. There is a bonus category that requires that the overall roll results can provide at least a value of 65 or more for the first or minor requirements of the score sheet. This will provide a 35 point bonus added to the overall score.

As mentioned, more experienced players know when to choose certain categories for a better end result. Going after the lesser valued requirements may be a good strategy, but it would really depend on the gameplay, and if one can turn an advantage at a later turn.

Finally, depending on the current running score, a player will have to balance “Risk vs. Reward” in order to go for a higher valued requirement, go for broke, and take the risk. Going for a Yatzy (which is usually 50 points), and getting lucky, might just prove the winning roll when the opponent is leading the game.

So, despite being in a huge part, a game of chance, Yatzy also relies on player skill and experience in beating the odds, and the roll of the dice (though not always) can be statistically predicted by players who are mathematically inclined.

For the rest of us, just roll the dice and let “Lady Luck” work her charms.

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