UPDATED MAY 2025.
These are Walnut Studiolo's rules of play and free printable Yacht scoresheet for one of our favorite dice games: Yacht (and similar variations like Generala, Yatzy, Poker Dice, Cheerio). Yacht is the original public domain version of the game that is marketed by Milton-Bradley as the trademarked Yahtzee®.
Yacht can be played with any number of players (2+) and all you need is dice, scoresheets, and a pen!
Table of Contents
How to Play Yacht
Although it has many names and some variations, this is the basic version of the game that we play, adapted and simplified from the official source: Hoyle's Rules of Games.
There are some slight scoring differences from the trademark Yahtzee® game but we actually enjoy this version more!
For more detailed rules, see the Wikipedia page for Yacht.
Object of the Game
Score the most points after 12 rounds of game play.
Game Play
- Gather 5 dice and a scoresheet and a pen for each player.
- The game consists of 12 rounds.
- Each player takes one turn within each round.
- A turn consists of up to 3 rolls of the dice. The object of a turn is to assign dice to count in one of the 12 counting categories shown on the scoresheet (more on that below).
- At the beginning of each turn, the player throws all 5 dice. The player sets aside any of the dice they wish to designate to a scoring category, and rolls the rest of the dice again. Same with the second roll. The player may "stay" at any time and is not required to roll all 3 times.
- After the third roll or "stay", the player must select a category on the scoresheet and enter the chosen score (which may be zero) under their name's column.
- If a player's roll does not qualify for any scoring category, then they must mark a zero (0) for one of the categories. They are now unable to score that category for the rest of the game.
- No category may be used more than once in the course of the game.
- When every player has had 12 turns, the scores on the scoresheet are tallied and the highest score wins.
Scoring
The scoring is as follows, with a maximum achievable score for each counting category:
| Category | Description | Maximum Score |
| Aces | Sum of all 1's | 5 |
| Deuces | Sum of all 2's | 10 |
| Threes | Sum of all 3's | 15 |
| Fours | Sum of all 4's | 20 |
| Fives | Sum of all 5's | 25 |
| Sixes | Sum of all 6's | 30 |
| Full House | Sum of all dice with 3 of a kind + a pair | 28 |
| 4 of a Kind | Sum of all dice with at least 4 of a kind | 29 |
| Small Straight | Score 30 for a 1-2-3-4-5 | 30 |
| Big Straight | Score 30 for a 2-3-4-5-6 | 30 |
| Choice | Sum of all dice (any combination) | 30 |
| Yacht | Score 50 for 5 of a kind | 50 |
Scoresheets make this easier! Use our free printable scoresheet for game play:
Print Yacht (Yatzy) Scorecard
You can use these scorecards in one of two ways:
- Print one per per person, who can use each column for multiple games. That way the person can keep a menu of scoring combinations private to themselves until the big count at the end.
- Print one per game, and assign one person as scorekeeper. The scorekeeper uses one column per player and allows the scores to be seen publicly by all during the game.
In 2025, we updated our scorecard design! Hand-drawn, characterful, and free for personal use, use the links below to print free Yacht / Yatzy scorecards for your next game with friends and family.
Version 2
This version has improvements in the design, lettering, and legibility. Free for personal use!
Print 1, 2, or 4 Per Page
The Version 2 PDF is just one scorecard, which can be printed individually at one per page. Use your printer settings for 2 or even 4 per page!
Version 1
This was our first hand-drawn Yacht scorecard, made free for public and personal use!
2 Per Page
Version 1 PDF prints 2 copies to a single US letter page.
Walnut Studiolo's Travel Dice
Inspired by the pocket games soldiers carried in WWII, our handcrafted Travel Dice holds dice in a conveniently small carrying tube on a ball chain.
The dice are small enough to be portable and lightweight but large enough to be legible and substantial in the hand.
Made from high quality, natural materials, the (6) included dice are stored in a solid brass travel tube, secured with walnut wood, and carried with a beaded brass-plated chain that can be worn as a necklace or carried as a keychain.
6 dice are enough for a game of Yacht plus a spare if one gets lost!
Play dice, dominoes and more classic travel games on-the-go with your family and friends using our creative, handcrafted travel-sized versions. Check out all our handcrafted travel games:
Valerie
March 10, 2025
@JellyBeaghn Technically speaking, if you’ve already scored your points, you cannot change your mind at that point. However, some “house rules” and friendly games are fine with it, so long as you subtract the points you already took!