About Yacht Dice
Yacht Dice is played with five dice and a score pad of thirteen boxes. On each turn you roll up to three times, keeping whichever dice you like between rolls, and then score the result in one box. Each box can be used only once, so the skill is deciding which box to spend on each result.
By the ToolFluency team · Updated October 2026
Play Yacht Dice free online, a Yahtzee-style game with five dice and thirteen boxes. Daily game with the same dice for everyone, best score and streaks. No download.
How to use
- Press Roll to throw all five dice. You get up to three rolls each turn.
- After a roll, tap any dice you want to keep. Held dice drop slightly and get a gold ring. Tap again to let one go. Then roll the rest.
- At any point in your turn, pick a box on the score pad. Each open box shows what the current dice would score in it, and the best-scoring box is tinted gold. After the third roll you must pick one.
- Every box can be used once. If nothing fits, you have to put a zero somewhere, so choose the box you were least likely to fill. Tapped the wrong box? Undo takes it back until you roll again.
- The upper section (Ones to Sixes) scores the total of that number. Reach 63 or more across the six boxes for a 35-point bonus. Three of each number gets you exactly 63.
- The lower section scores patterns: three and four of a kind (total of all dice), full house (25), small straight (30), large straight (40), five of a kind (50) and Chance (total of all dice, no pattern needed).
- The game lasts 13 turns, one per box. Play the Daily game, where everyone gets the same run of dice, to compare scores and build a streak; press Random for a fresh solo game; or choose vs Computer to take alternate turns against a computer player on a shared score pad, highest total wins.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Yacht Dice?
Yacht Dice is played with five dice and a score pad of thirteen boxes. On each turn you roll up to three times, keeping whichever dice you like between rolls, and then score the result in one box. Each box can be used only once, so the skill is deciding which box to spend on each result. After thirteen turns every box is full and the highest total wins. Playing alone, the aim is to beat your own best score; against the computer, you take alternate turns and the higher total wins.
Is this the same as Yahtzee?
It is the same family of game. Yacht is the older public-domain dice game, played since at least the 1930s, that the well-known boxed game was based on. This version uses the scoring most players today expect: an upper section with a 35-point bonus at 63, three and four of a kind, a full house for 25, small and large straights for 30 and 40, five of a kind for 50, and Chance. If you know how to play Yahtzee, you already know how to play this. For the boxed game's official rules, see our
printable Yahtzee rules.
How does the scoring work?
Upper section: Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives and Sixes each score the total of that number showing, so three 5s score 15 in Fives. Score 63 or more in the upper section for a 35-point bonus. Lower section: three of a kind and four of a kind score the total of all five dice; a full house (three of one number and two of another) scores 25; a small straight (four in a row) scores 30; a large straight (five in a row) scores 40; five of a kind scores 50; Chance scores the total of all five dice with no pattern needed.
What happens if I roll five of a kind twice?
If you have already scored 50 in the Five of a kind box and roll five of a kind again, you get a 100-point bonus on top of whatever box you score that turn. This version keeps that rule simple: the bonus is added and you score the dice normally in any open box. It does not use the extra 'joker' rule from the boxed game that lets a second five of a kind stand in for a full house or a straight.
What is a good score?
A casual game usually lands between 150 and 250. Scores above 250 mean the upper bonus and at least one of the big boxes came in, and 300 or more takes a five of a kind. The highest possible score without extra five-of-a-kind bonuses is 375. Your best, your average and the number of games you have played are kept in the Your record panel.
What is the daily game?
Each calendar day has one daily game, and everyone who plays it gets the same sequence of dice. Because the dice depend on the day and not on luck at your table, two people who make the same choices get the same score, which makes scores fair to compare. Your first finished game is your score for the day, and finishing it on the day counts toward your daily streak. The daily game cannot be restarted part-way; if you leave, it is kept and picks up where you left it. After you have a score you can replay the same dice as practice, which changes nothing. Your record is stored in this browser, with no account needed.
What is the best strategy?
Go after the upper bonus: 35 points is worth more than most single boxes, and three of each number gets you there. Take fours, fives and sixes seriously; a weak score there is hard to make up. Keep Chance for a rescue late in the game, not for a middling roll early on. Put forced zeros in Ones or in Five of a kind if it has not come by the last few turns. And with two rolls left and a pair, rolling for three or four of a kind usually beats breaking it up for a straight.
How well does the computer play Yacht Dice?
Well. Before each reroll it works out, for every possible set of dice it could keep, the average result of the roll that would follow, and keeps the best set. It values each box against what that box normally earns, so it does not waste Chance early or throw away the upper bonus. In testing it averaged about 230 points a game, which is a strong human score; the best possible play averages around 250. You and the computer take turns going first, and your wins and win streak against it are kept.
Is this game free?
Yes. It runs in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer with no download and no sign-up, and a game in progress is kept if you close the tab and come back. For card games on the same table, try
Solitaire or
FreeCell.
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