Yacht – Rules and Regulations of the Dice Game

In the vast ocean of dice games, Yacht stands out as one of the most captivating and strategic journeys. Yacht is a game that can either be played against the computer, or online against real-life players. Either way, this game is tons of fun to play!

In this blog, we’ll go over the basic rules on how to play Yacht, as well as some strategies to help out the newer players. Continue reading to learn some of the rules that you’ll have to know in order to succeed.

Rules of The Yacht Dice Game

It can be intimidating to start playing the Yacht. Players start out by rolling five dice, with a complicated scoring sheet right next to the table. This might seem like it's going to be hard to learn. However, when you break this board game down to its core components, you will see that it isn’t so difficult to learn how to play Yacht.

Rolling

Yacht starts by rolling five different dice. After each roll, you will have the opportunity to decide which dice you would like to keep and which ones you would like to re-roll. After three rolls, you must pick which combination of dice to go with.

Categories

Every time that you finish rolling, you must select a new category to put your roll under. There are tons of different categories to select from at the beginning of the game. Categories include ones through sixes (where you sum the corresponding numbers), three of a kind, four of a kind, full house, small straight, large straight, yacht (five of a kind), and chance.

Bonuses

Categories are broken into 2 different areas – the top part of the sheet and the bottom part. The bottom part is all of the niche categories such as small straight, three-of-a-kind, and full house. The top part of the sheet is entirely made of the ones through sixes section. If you are able to get a cumulative score of 63 with those 6 categories in the top part, then players will get a bonus of 35 points on their sheet.

Final Round

After all 13 rounds of Yacht, it is time to total up your entire score. The player with the highest amount of points wins the dice game and is declared champion.Oftentimes this will only come down to 10 or 20 points. Remember, every round counts!

Common Strategies

When going toe to toe against opponents, it can be difficult to come out victorious when you’re just starting. Not to worry though, these small tips and tricks will help to give you a leg up on the competition.

The bonus is key

As we previously mentioned, if you are able to get 63 points total in the section of ones through sixes, you will receive a 35-point bonus. This is an absolutely crucial aspect of the game. You should always make sure to try and hit this point mark, especially the fours, fives, and sixes.

Don't waste your Chance

One of the categories of the Yacht Dice Game is Chance. The Chance category allows you to add up the total of all the dice in a given roll and score that total. It is a useful category that should only be used in emergencies. When the game is nearing the end, having a safety valve is huge.

Know when to take risks

As you near the end of the game, it will become obvious how far ahead or behind you are. This should inform your decisions on how risky you want to play. You may be willing to go for the 50-point Yacht if you are far ahead, or you can play it safe and try and get some easier points in a different category. Understanding how risky you can afford to be is a crucial part of learning how to play Yacht.

So now that you have learned the basics of how to play Yacht, make sure to go and try it for yourself. Whether you want to challenge an opponent from across the world, play against the computer, or sit down and face a friendy, it’ll be a fun and competitive time.