Yacht Dice Game Rules: How to Play Yacht
Nov 7, 2026 · The Editors
How to play Yacht, the classic five-dice game: rolling and rerolling, the twelve categories and how each scores, a printable-style score sheet, strategy tips, and how it differs from the boxed version.
Yacht is the five-dice game that the famous boxed dice game was based on. It appears in game rule books from the late 1930s, and the boxed version was famously bought from a couple who called it "the yacht game" after the boat they played it on. All you need is five dice, a pencil and paper — and ideally a cup to roll them from.
What you need
- Five standard dice.
- A dice cup — optional, but it makes for fairer, quieter rolls.
- A score sheet: the twelve categories below down the side, one column per player.
- Any number of players. Two to four is ideal.
A turn
- Roll all five dice.
- Keep any you like and reroll the rest.
- Do it once more if you want: up to three rolls in total.
- Score the result in one empty category on your sheet — it must be a category you have not used yet. If nothing fits, you must still fill a category, scoring zero.
The game lasts twelve rounds, one per category. Highest total wins.
The twelve categories
| Category | Scores |
|---|---|
| Ones | Total of all 1s |
| Twos | Total of all 2s |
| Threes | Total of all 3s |
| Fours | Total of all 4s |
| Fives | Total of all 5s |
| Sixes | Total of all 6s |
| Full House | Three of one number and two of another: total of all five dice |
| Four of a Kind | At least four the same: total of those four dice |
| Little Straight | 1-2-3-4-5: 30 points |
| Big Straight | 2-3-4-5-6: 30 points |
| Choice | Any roll: total of all five dice |
| Yacht | All five the same: 50 points |
So rolling 6-6-6-4-4 scores 26 as a Full House, 18 in Sixes, 8 in Fours, or 26 as Choice.
How Yacht differs from the boxed version
The boxed game that grew out of Yacht adds a bonus for a high total in the number categories, swaps the straights for small and large straights with fixed scores, and adds three of a kind and extra bonuses for repeat five-of-a-kinds. Yacht is the simpler, older game, and many people prefer it.
Strategy tips
- Use Choice as a safety net — a place for a bad roll late in the game.
- Go for Yacht early, while you still have spare categories to absorb a miss.
- Do not waste a big roll in a small category. Five 2s is 10 in Twos but 50 as a Yacht.
- Fill Ones with a zero if you have to scratch a category — it costs least.
- Straights need a decision after the first roll. With 2-3-4-5 showing, reroll the odd die for a straight at either end.
Related dice games
Yacht is one of a family of dice games played with five or six dice: Farkle, 10,000, Ship, Captain and Crew and Liar's Dice. A leather dice cup with five dice covers most of them.
