Play Yahtzee online free: against the computer or with a friend
Three rolls, thirteen boxes, one score card. Play Yahtzee free in your browser against a computer opponent with three difficulty levels, or pass the phone and play two players. Scoring, strategy and answers to common questions are below the game.
📖 Read the rules: Yahtzee Rules: How to Play and Score Every Box
Yahtzee is the dice game most of us learned at a kitchen table. This version is for the moments when the box is not around: play solo against the computer or share one screen with a friend. It works the same on a phone, a tablet and a desktop browser, and there is nothing to install.
How to play
- Choose Against the computer and a level, or 2 players to play with a friend.
- Press Roll. You get up to three rolls per turn.
- After the first roll, tap the dice you want to hold. Held dice turn teal and stay put on the next roll. Tap again to release them.
- After your last roll (or earlier, if you are happy), pick a box. Every box you can still use shows the points you would score there. One tap fills it. You may also take a zero in a box you want to sacrifice.
- After thirteen turns the card is full. Highest total wins.
The computer plays its turn on its own. You see its dice, which ones it holds and where it scores, so you can follow its thinking.
Scoring
| Box | Points |
|---|---|
| Ones to Sixes | Sum of the matching dice |
| Bonus | 35 points if the upper section totals 63 or more |
| Three of a kind | Sum of all dice, if three match |
| Four of a kind | Sum of all dice, if four match |
| Full house | 25 points for three of one number and two of another |
| Small straight | 30 points for four numbers in a row |
| Large straight | 40 points for five numbers in a row |
| Yahtzee | 50 points for five of a kind |
| Chance | Sum of all dice |
Each additional Yahtzee is worth a 100-point bonus and is scored by the Joker rule (see the questions below). The complete rules with all the edge cases are on our Yahtzee rules page, and a printable card is on the Yahtzee score sheet page.
The three computer levels
- Easy simply takes the box with the most points each turn and only holds its most common number. It forgets about the bonus and burns Chance early. Good for learning; children beat it regularly.
- Medium plays like an experienced person: it chases the upper bonus, keeps four in a row for straights and zeroes the Ones when a roll is hopeless. You have to pay attention to beat it.
- Hard simulates hundreds of continuations for every possible set of held dice before each roll and chooses the one with the best expected score. It averages around 240 points. Beating it is a real achievement.
Strategy that adds points
- The bonus is the target. 63 points in the upper section means three of each number. Four sixes (24) put you three ahead of pace and buy a slip elsewhere.
- Chance is your escape hatch. Save it for a bad roll in the final turns. Fill it with 18 in turn two and you will have nowhere to dump a dud later.
- Zero the Ones, never the Yahtzee. Scratching the Yahtzee box early costs 50 points plus every future Joker bonus. Scratching the Ones costs at most five.
- A small straight is often already there. With 1-2-3-4-6, reroll the six: any five makes a large straight and the small one is safe either way.
- Kinds before full house. Three of a kind and four of a kind score the total of all dice, so three sixes with two decent dice beat a full house of ones and twos.
Playing on a phone
The page adapts to a phone screen: the dice are large enough to tap, and the score card scrolls sideways if it has to. Add the page to your home screen and it opens like an app. For three or more players we still recommend paper and real dice, with our printable sheet or the online dice roller.
Yahtzee is a trademark of Hasbro. This browser game is an independent free offering and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the trademark owner.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Yahtzee game really free?
Yes. There is no account, no app and nothing to buy; the site is supported by ads. The game runs entirely in your browser and nothing about your play is sent to a server. Only your best score is kept, locally on your device.
How good is the hard computer?
The hard opponent simulates thousands of possible continuations before every decision and averages around 240 points per game. Medium averages about 200 and easy about 180. Experienced human players usually land between 200 and 250; 300 is rare even for very good players.
Can two people play on one phone?
Yes. Choose the 2 players mode. Player 1 and Player 2 take turns and the score card shows both columns side by side, just like paper. Pass the device after each turn.
How does the Joker rule work for a second Yahtzee?
If the Yahtzee box already holds 50, every further Yahtzee earns a 100-point bonus. The dice must then go in the matching upper box (five fours go in Fours). If that box is full, you may use the roll as a Joker in any lower box for full points, for example 40 in Large straight. Only when those are full too must you zero an upper box. If the Yahtzee box holds a 0, there is no bonus and no Joker.
What is the difference between Yahtzee, Yatzy and Kniffel?
Yahtzee and Kniffel share the same rules; the only scoring difference is that extra Kniffels earn 50 rather than 100. Our German version uses the Kniffel scoring. Yatzy, popular in Scandinavia, has a different card with one pair, two pairs and a 15-point small straight, so it is not the same game.
Does the game save my progress?
Only your best total is saved on the device so you see it next time. A game in progress is lost if you close the tab, but a full game takes just a few minutes.