How does the bonus work in Yahtzee

The upper section bonus: 63 points earns 35

The upper section of a Yahtzee score card has six boxes, Aces through Sixes. In each one you write the total of only the dice showing that number, so three fours score 12 in the Fours box. Hasbro's instructions say that if you score at least 63 points across those six boxes, you get a 35-point bonus.

The number 63 is not arbitrary. It is what you get by scoring exactly three of each number: 3 + 6 + 9 + 12 + 15 + 18 = 63. Hasbro puts it plainly: to reach the bonus, you just need to roll three of each number. The rules sold by Winning Moves under licence from Hasbro add that the total can be reached in any manner, so four sixes can make up for only two aces.

The bonus is added once, at the end, on top of the upper section total. A player whose six boxes add up to 66 has an upper total of 101 after the bonus. A player on 62 gets nothing extra, which is why the last upper box of a game often matters more than its face value suggests.

Keeping track of par as you go

A simple way to track it is to give each upper box a target of three of that number, often called par. That makes the target 3 for Aces, for Twos 6, for Threes 9, for Fours 12, for Fives 15 and for Sixes 18. Every box scored above par builds a cushion; every box below par digs a hole that another box has to fill.

The strategy notes in the Winning Moves rules give a worked example. Scoring 4 in the Twos box leaves you 2 points short of the 63 needed. To make that up, you would need four of a kind in Threes, Fours, Fives or Sixes at some point in the game. The same arithmetic works in reverse: an early 24 in Sixes is 6 above par and covers a weak Aces box later.

It helps to know what the bonus is worth next to other boxes. At 35 points it is worth more than a Full House, which scores 25, and more than a Small Straight, which scores 30. Hasbro's own tips advise balancing your scoring between the upper and lower sections.

The Yahtzee bonus: 100 points for each extra Yahtzee

A Yahtzee is five dice showing the same number. The first one you score in the Yahtzee box is worth 50 points. Hasbro's rules say that one extra Yahtzee is worth 100 bonus points, and the Winning Moves rules apply the bonus to the second and every later Yahtzee in the same game.

There is a condition. The 100-point bonus only applies if your Yahtzee box already holds 50. Hasbro's instructions say that if you have already scored zero in your Yahtzee box, you cannot get the 100-point bonus, which is why their tips warn against putting a zero there. The Winning Moves rules say the same thing in different words: the bonus is paid only if the first Yahtzee was scored in the Yahtzee box.

Collecting the bonus does not replace your turn. Hasbro tells you to mark the bonus and also fill one of your empty boxes with the roll. In the Winning Moves edition each extra Yahtzee earns a bonus chip worth 100, and the chips are added to the score at the end of the game.

Joker rules: where an extra Yahtzee goes

Both published versions agree on the first step. An extra Yahtzee goes in the matching upper box if it is still open, so five fives score 25 in the Fives box. It is when that box is already filled that the Joker rules come in, and here the two editions are worded differently.

Hasbro's current instructions give an order. If the matching upper box is full, put the total of the five dice in Three of a Kind or Four of a Kind. If those are full too, use Chance, or take any other lower box and score it as normal, for example 25 in Full House or 40 in Large Straight.

The Winning Moves rules let you choose any open box in the lower section once the matching upper box is filled: the dice total in Three of a Kind, Four of a Kind or Chance, or the fixed 25, 30 or 40 in Full House, Small Straight or Large Straight. If every lower box is already filled, you must enter a zero in an open upper box. In this edition a Yahtzee used as a Joker still earns its bonus chip when it has to go in as a zero, provided the first Yahtzee was scored in the Yahtzee box.

Wikipedia notes that two Joker variants circulate, a forced version and a simpler free-choice version. If your group has always played one way, that is fine; the useful habit is to agree before the first roll which wording you are following.

Common bonus mistakes

Forgetting to add the 35. The bonus is not written into any box during play, so it is easy to leave out of the final total. Hasbro's instructions include a reminder not to forget it if you score at least 63 in the upper section.

Thinking you need exactly three of each. Three of each number is a shortcut to 63, not a requirement. Any combination that adds up to 63 or more earns the bonus.

Scratching the Yahtzee box early. A zero in the Yahtzee box gives up the 50 points a Yahtzee would have scored there and also closes off every 100-point bonus for the rest of the game.

Mixing up Yahtzee and Yatzy. Yatzy, the version most popular in the Nordic countries, also uses a 63-point threshold but pays a 50-point upper bonus, according to Wikipedia, and its straights and categories differ. If a score card does not match these numbers, check which game it was printed for.

If you keep score on a phone instead of a paper card, TallyDeck's Yahtzee sheet keeps the upper subtotal as you go and adds the 35 points the moment it reaches 63.

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