How to score Yahtzee
Last updated August 24, 2026
The quick answer
A Yahtzee scorecard has thirteen categories. In the upper section, Ones through Sixes, you score the sum of the dice showing that number, and reaching 63 there earns a 35-point bonus. The lower section pays fixed amounts: 25 for a full house, 30 for a small straight, 40 for a large straight and 50 for a Yahtzee, while three-of-a-kind, four-of-a-kind and Chance all score the total of the five dice. Each extra Yahtzee after the first is worth a 100-point bonus.
The short version
- Upper section: sum only the dice matching the category. Three of each number gets you to exactly 63.
- The upper bonus is 35 points, and it triggers at 63 or more, not at 62.
- Fixed values: full house 25, small straight 30, large straight 40, Yahtzee 50.
- Three of a kind, four of a kind and Chance score the total of all five dice, not just the matching ones.
- You must fill a box every turn. With no valid category, you take a zero somewhere of your choosing.
Yahtzee scoring table
| Category | What it needs | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Ones to Sixes | Any dice of that number | Sum of those dice |
| Upper bonus | 63+ in the upper section | 35 |
| Three of a kind | Three dice the same | Sum of all five dice |
| Four of a kind | Four dice the same | Sum of all five dice |
| Full house | Three of one, two of another | 25 |
| Small straight | Four in a row | 30 |
| Large straight | Five in a row | 40 |
| Yahtzee | Five dice the same | 50 |
| Chance | Anything at all | Sum of all five dice |
| Yahtzee bonus | Each Yahtzee after the first | 100 each |
Thirteen categories, two bonuses. Everything else on the sheet is arithmetic.
The upper section and the 63-point bonus
Ones through Sixes only count the dice showing that number: four fives in the Fives box is 20, and the fifth die is irrelevant. The 35-point bonus arrives when the upper section totals 63 or more, which is exactly three of each number. That makes three-of-a-number the par score for every upper box, and it is worth tracking whether you are running ahead or behind it.
- Four sixes puts you 6 ahead of par and buys you a weak box elsewhere.
- Two threes puts you 3 behind, and that debt has to be repaid higher up the sheet.
- The bonus is all or nothing: 62 points scores 62, and 63 scores 98.
The lower section: fixed prices and dice totals
The lower boxes split into two kinds. Full house, the straights and Yahtzee pay a fixed amount whatever the dice show, so a full house of sixes and a full house of ones both score 25. Three of a kind, four of a kind and Chance score the total of all five dice, which is why five sixes in the four-of-a-kind box is worth 30, not 24.
You always have to fill a box
At the end of your three rolls you must write something into an empty box, even if the dice fit nothing. Taking a deliberate zero is part of the game: most players sacrifice Ones, or Yahtzee once the chance of five of a kind has gone, rather than wrecking a category they still need.
The joker rules for a second Yahtzee
Roll a second Yahtzee with the 50 already scored and you collect a 100-point bonus, then place the dice. The matching upper box comes first. If that box is already used, the roll becomes a joker in the lower section, where it can be taken as a full house for 25, a small straight for 30 or a large straight for 40 even though the dice are not really a straight.
Multi-column and 4-column Yahtzee
The popular column variants keep every value on this page and only change where you may write. A four-column sheet gives each player 52 cells: one column filled downwards, one upwards, one free, and one announced before the roll. The final score is the sum of all the columns, which makes the upper bonus payable several times over.
How to total a Yahtzee scorecard
The upper section is totalled twice, before and after the bonus. Skipping that is the most common scoring mistake on a paper sheet.
- 1
Add the upper section
Total Ones through Sixes and write the subtotal in the box provided.
- 2
Apply the 35-point bonus
If that subtotal is 63 or higher, add 35. Below 63 the bonus is lost entirely.
- 3
Add the lower section
Total the fixed categories and the dice-sum categories together, zeros included.
- 4
Add any Yahtzee bonuses
100 points for every Yahtzee after the first, on top of wherever the dice were placed.
- 5
Add the two halves for the grand total
Upper section with its bonus, plus lower section with its bonuses. Highest grand total wins.
A worked scorecard
A solid but ordinary game, showing where the two bonuses land.
| Line | Detail | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Upper section | 3+6+9+16+20+24 | 78 |
| Upper bonus | 78 is above 63 | 35 |
| Lower section | 24+27+25+30+0+50+22 | 178 |
| Grand total | 78 + 35 + 178 | 291 |
The zero in the large straight box cost 40 points, and the 35-point bonus more than paid it back. That trade-off is most of Yahtzee strategy in one line.
House rules vary. Where a value genuinely differs from table to table, this page says so rather than picking one and pretending it is universal.
Let Scory do the counting
A Yahtzee sheet is thirteen boxes, two bonuses and a rule about which numbers are legal in each one. Scory keeps all of it straight: tap the dice you rolled and the app fills in the score the category is actually worth.
- Dice mode: set the five dice and the valid score for each category is worked out for you.
- Category validation, so a full house cannot be entered as 27 by mistake.
- The 63-point bonus tracked live, with how far you are from it at a glance.
- Classic, multi-column and 4-column variants, all totalled automatically.
Frequently asked questions
How many points is the Yahtzee upper bonus?
35 points, awarded when the upper section reaches 63 or more. 63 is what you get from three of each number, Ones through Sixes.
What is a full house worth in Yahtzee?
25 points, always. The value of the dice makes no difference: three sixes and two fives scores exactly the same as three ones and two twos.
How do you score a second Yahtzee?
If the Yahtzee box already holds 50, you take a 100-point bonus and then place the dice in the matching upper box, or as a joker in the lower section if that box is gone.
What if none of my categories match?
You still have to fill a box, so you write a zero in the one you can most afford to lose. Ones and Yahtzee are the usual sacrifices.
Does four of a kind score only the matching dice?
No, it scores all five dice added together. The same is true of three of a kind and of Chance.
What is the highest possible Yahtzee score?
1575, which needs thirteen Yahtzees of sixes in one game: the 50, twelve 100-point bonuses and a perfect sheet underneath. A realistic good game is closer to 250 to 300.