Coming soonAges 7+1 to 12 playersFree
Yacht
The five-dice game with a 50-point prize
Everyone rolls at once, so a game takes minutes, not an hour. Play solo, race the regulars, or take on the daily game where everyone gets the same dice. Free.
Yacht is a dice game of planning as much as luck. You roll five dice up to three times a round, then score them in one of twelve categories on your scorecard. Each category can be used once, so every round is a choice: take the points now, or save the slot for a better roll. The big prize is a Yacht, five dice all the same, worth 50. It has been played since at least the 1930s, and it is easy to teach: all you need is five dice and a pencil.
How to play Yacht
What you need
Five dice, a cup and a scorecard with twelve categories. One player or many, each with their own scorecard.
A round
- Roll all five dice.
- Hold what you like. Set aside any dice you want to keep, and roll the rest again. You may pick up a held die and roll it again too.
- Roll a third time, if you want. You get up to three rolls in total. You can stop after any of them.
- Score the dice. Put the result in one category on your scorecard. Every category is used exactly once, so a game is twelve rounds.
If your dice fit nowhere useful, you must still use a category. Cross one off for zero, and choose the one that costs you least.
The twelve categories
| Category | What counts | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Ones | Any dice showing 1 | Total of the 1s |
| Twos | Any dice showing 2 | Total of the 2s |
| Threes | Any dice showing 3 | Total of the 3s |
| Fours | Any dice showing 4 | Total of the 4s |
| Fives | Any dice showing 5 | Total of the 5s |
| Sixes | Any dice showing 6 | Total of the 6s |
| Full House | Three of one number and two of another | Sum of all five dice |
| Four of a Kind | At least four dice the same | Sum of those four dice |
| Little Straight | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | 30 |
| Big Straight | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | 30 |
| Choice | Any five dice | Sum of all five dice |
| Yacht | All five dice the same | 50 |
For example, 4, 4, 4, 2, 6 scores 12 in Fours, 20 in Choice, or 0 in Full House. Three 5s and two 3s is a Full House worth 21. There is no bonus for the top half of the card, so every point comes from the category it is in.
Winning
After twelve rounds, add up your scorecard. The highest total wins. Playing alone, the aim is to beat your own best.
Yacht strategy
- Keep Choice for your bad rolls. Choice takes any five dice, so it is the safe place for a roll that fits nowhere else. Fill it with a poor roll and you lose very little.
- Chase the biggest set after one roll. If your first roll has a pair or three of a kind, keep it. Chasing a Yacht from the first roll lands about one round in twenty-two, which is worth a go early in the game while the slot is open.
- Take your zeros where they cost least. A zero in Ones costs you at most 5 points. A zero in Yacht costs you the chance at 50. Cross off Ones first when you have to.
- Do not chase a straight from a bad start. Both straights are one exact run of five. Keep a straight only when you already hold four in a row, or when you are down to your last open slots.
- Aim for three of each number up top. Three of every face in the top half scores 63. With no top bonus it is a guide, not a target, but it tells you whether your Fives and Sixes are keeping pace.
Our Yacht, coming soon
Your scorecard is a brass lock plate. Score a category and a pin drives home with a clunk, and a Yacht opens the plate. You get twelve rounds and a high score to beat. You can race one of the regulars, Clem, Rook, Aunt Vera or the Locksmith himself, who play the same twelve rounds beside you. The easy regulars score the best slot now; the sharp ones save the Yacht and the straights.
There is a daily Yacht where everyone gets the same dice that day, in the same order, so the puzzle is your choices, not the luck. One scored run a day, and practice as much as you like.
With friends, everyone rolls at the same time, so twelve rounds take minutes, not an hour. Each phone is your cup and your scorecard, and the TV shows every lock plate side by side. Free to play, with no app.
Free to play, and coming soon
Yacht is free, solo or with friends, and there is no app to download. Put your email in the box and we will send one email the day it opens, and nothing else unless you tick the box.
More to play and read
The other Classics, coming soon, and the party games you can play today.
- All our party games, free and in Party Pack 01
- Party games you can play on a TV with phones
- Games like Jackbox you can play on your phone
- Murder in the Dark, a free lights-out party game for one room
Questions about Yacht
How many rounds are there in Yacht?
Twelve, one for each category on the scorecard. Each round gives you up to three rolls.
What is a Yacht in the dice game?
Five dice all showing the same number. It scores 50, the most of any category.
How do you score a Full House in Yacht?
Three dice of one number and two of another. You score the sum of all five dice, so 6, 6, 6, 5, 5 is 28.
Is there a bonus in Yacht?
Not in our version. The twelve categories are scored as they come, with no extra points for the top half of the card.
Can you play Yacht alone?
Yes. Ours has a solo game against your own best score, an optional race against one of the regulars, and a daily game with the same dice for everyone.
Is it free to play?
Yes, and there is no app to download. It opens soon: put your email in the box on this page and we will tell you the day it does.