Yahtzee has been around for a while; general story claims it was invented in the early 50's by a Canadian couple. By its name you could think it has something to do with Buddha, but the truth is, that according to legend, they were playing on their Yacht and called the game "The Yacht Game", not having much to do with the Buddha after all. The game was later marketed and popularized by Edwin S. Lowe, game entrepreneur who himself was involved in popularizing Bingo games in the 1920's; Lowe was the one who decided to call the game Yahtzee.
From the early fifties to today Yahtzee has gained great popularity due to its fairly simple conduct and the fact that it can be played by the whole family. Yahtzee became so popular it even bought its place among the hall of fame of games made into television game shows, when a Yahtzee game show started broadcasting in the late 80's. Naturally, due to its grandeur, Yahtzee has made it to the Online Gaming scene, also starring in lots of "Other Games" or "Specialty Games" sections in Online Casinos. The aim of this article is to lay out basic points on how to play the game.
Setting
Yahtzee is played over the course of 13 rounds, in which five dice are involved. It requires more than two players, a bigger number of players is always recommended. The goal in general is to hit 12 different combinations with the dice, getting points for each combination. Yahtzee is played with a matching Score Card containing the different combinations a player can roll, also used for marking the process of the game.
A turn in Yahtzee
Each player has three rolls on each turn of Yahtzee. Yahtzee has great versatility with the options players have with their dice. Players can keep their dice from their roll, so if for example they roll three 2's in one roll they can keep that one and roll only 2 other dice in the next turn. However once you roll each and every die the value received is final.
Yahtzee Combinations
There is a comprehensive array of Yahtzee combinations. There are the basic ones – Ones, Twos, and so on, corresponding with their numbers; for example – you roll five 4's, hence you receive four points for each 4, which in total is 20 points. Other combinations include Three and Four of a kind and Full House – Three of a specific number with a couple from another number will grant you 25 points. This game of numbers is the gist of Yahtzee, it's not complex and with time you learn how to make learned moves.
Who wins?
At the end of all 13 rounds in every game of Yahtzee, all players tally the value of points they've accumulated in their pots – all the while comparing to the pots of others. The person with the highest number of points naturally wins. Pious players who've won are expected to shout: "Yahtzee!".