How to use the Yahtzee roller
- Roll all five dice — tap Roll or tap the table.
- Hold the dice you want to keep by tapping them on the table or in the result row. Held dice get a gold ring.
- Roll again to throw only the others. You get up to three rolls a turn; the counter shows which roll you are on.
- Score it. The roller lists the combinations you have — Yahtzee, straights, full house, kinds — with their points. Then press New turn.
The same hold-and-re-roll works for Farkle, Ship Captain & Crew, Generala and other five-dice games.
The scorecard
| Box | You need | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Aces to Sixes | Any dice | Sum of that number only; 63+ across the six boxes earns a 35-point bonus |
| Three of a kind | At least three the same | Total of all five dice |
| Four of a kind | At least four the same | Total of all five dice |
| Full house | Three of one number and two of another | 25 |
| Small straight | Four in a row | 30 |
| Large straight | Five in a row | 40 |
| Yahtzee | All five the same | 50 (each extra Yahtzee: +100 bonus) |
| Chance | Anything | Total of all five dice |
Odds on a single roll of five dice
Five dice can land 65 = 7,776 ways. Counting every one of them gives the exact chance of each pattern on one throw:
| Pattern | Ways | Chance | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yahtzee (five of a kind) | 6 | 0.08% | 1 in 1,296 |
| Exactly four of a kind | 150 | 1.93% | 1 in 51.8 |
| Full house | 300 | 3.86% | 1 in 25.9 |
| Exactly three of a kind (not a full house) | 1,200 | 15.4% | 1 in 6.5 |
| Large straight | 240 | 3.09% | 1 in 32.4 |
| Small straight or better | 1,200 | 15.4% | 1 in 6.5 |
| Two pairs | 1,800 | 23.1% | 1 in 4.3 |
| Exactly one pair | 3,600 | 46.3% | 1 in 2.2 |
Quick strategy tips
- Chase the upper bonus early. Three of each number in the upper section scores exactly 63 — enough for the 35-point bonus.
- Keep pairs and triples on the first roll unless you already hold four in a row.
- Use Chance as a safety net for a bad turn late in the game, not a mediocre one early.
- Do not sacrifice the Yahtzee box lightly: with roughly a 4.6% chance per turn, it often comes along at least once in thirteen turns.