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The "Minimum score" section stating that 6 is the minimum score is incorrect. There is no rule that actually forces you to score a five of a kind in the Yahtzee section; thus, one could potentially place five 1s in the Chance box, and score zero everywhere else, for a total score of 5. My pocket electronic Yahtzee game (made by MB) verifies this. John Darrow (talk) 06:30, 1 March 2010 (UTC)
This is quite correct, 5 is the minimum score.
It seems to me that the highest possible score is "5 + 10 + 15 + 20 + 25 + 30 + 35 (bonus) + 30 + 30 + 25 + 30 + 40 + 50 + 30" which is 375 not 302. The minimum score is 5. In fact a quick set of calculations shows the following statistics based on the different possible scoring outcomes. i.e. assuming there are no bonuses for extra yahtzees, then given the possible scores for each category:
0-4 cannot occur (chance is at least 5)
5 is minimum score
50% of possible scoring outcomes are less than or equal to 184
60% of scores are <= 197
70% of scores are <= 212
75% of scores are <= 220
80% of scores are <= 228
85% of scores are <= 239
90% of scores are <= 252
95% of scores are <= 271
96% of scores are <= 276
97% of scores are <= 283
98% of scores are <= 292
99% of scores are <= 304
99.9% of possible scores are <= 342
The only 100% score = 375
--Alex Farkas 12:22, 7 March 2010 (UTC)
Is Yathzee valid as full house? I think it should, for it is valid as 3 and 4 of a kind as well. Many programs are made otherwise. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.174.22.39 (talk) 11:44, 20 April 2010 (UTC)
I wrote a game based on Yahtzee and originally my code didn't allow using a Yahtzee as a full house; my math logic didn't incorporate that a pair and a three of a kind could be of the same die face. My original logic scanned the dice to first identify the pair, and then verify the remaining three dice to be of a different die face than the pair. It made sense programatically; however, it was a flaw in my thinking - I would suspect that other programmers have experinced this approach and thus why others don't allow it. For me, it was a bug which I altered, because, the criteria for a full house is to be one pair and three of a kind. Nothing says they cannot be of the same die face.
IMHO lol Torbis Nedrick (talk) 07:38, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
I came here looking for the rules, having never played. I'm sure previous authors know a lot about the game. Rules overview - Upper section - Sorry, but incomprehensible to someone like myself, who does not already know the rules. Consider an introduction to the rules for those not already fans? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.57.130.196 (talk) 22:37, 29 December 2010 (UTC)
+++++NEw Vintage book edition++++ Does any one know about this? A version was released at Target for $20. they sold out but its become some sort of collectors item selling for hundres. The other vintage book games- monopoly etc are not taking this trend. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.97.164.124 (talk) 22:32, 6 June 2011 (UTC)
I know this might be not significant, but for me the meaning of this phrase is kind of confusing:
Any suggestions for re-phrasing? --imega 23:20, 10 November 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Imega (talk • contribs)
If you zeroed out the yahtzee column first, then assumed 5 of a kind for every category - I get 325 for the theoretical maximum score for '0' yahtzees. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Semaj187 (talk • contribs) 22:00, 8 February 2012 (UTC)
Hi, i wrote a program to compute optimal strategies in yahtzee. For single player, optimizing the expectation value, its optimal, also in optimizing the probability to reach a given threshold. I also implemented a two player strategy, which optimizes the convolution of the probability distributions of both players. It would be great if someone ist interested to run it: http://holderied.de/yahtzee/ Before you can start, the Program needs a night to precompute all possible states. Greetings, Felix — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.167.130.228 (talk) 18:54, 29 August 2014 (UTC)
Update: http://yahtzee.holderied.de/ is a Demo, to show how it works. Greetings, Felix — Preceding unsigned comment added by FelixH (talk • contribs) 09:55, 2 March 2017 (UTC)
I don't understand how the 3-bonus max score can be 666. By my math:
max = ones twos threes fours fives sixes bonus 3ofKind 4ofKind flHse sStr lStr Yzee chance bonusYzee 675 = ((5 * 1) + (5 * 2) + (5 * 3) + (5 * 4) + (5 * 5) + (5 * 6) + 35) + ((5 * 6) + (5 * 6) + 25 + 30 + 40 + 50 + (5 * 6) + (3 * 100))
but my edit was reverted, the comment saying:
(Undid revision 628377677 by Supuhstar (talk) 666 seems to be correct - 5x1, 5x2, 5x3, 29 on 3k, 4k, Ch so only 3 bonues)
which I can't parse... what does the reversion comment mean, and can anyone show me the flaw in my math? — Supuhstar * — 19:53, 12 October 2014 (UTC)
The joker rules described here (and indeed, at [1]) aren't what I remember them being.
The impression this gives is that if you roll a Yahtzee when you have already filled the Yahtzee box on your scoresheet, you must follow set rules about what category you score it under - fill in the upper section box corresponding to the number you rolled 5 of if this is still available, otherwise score it in a lower section box of your choice, or if all these are filled then zero an upper section box of your choice.
I suppose different editions have had slightly different rules. As it happens, I can't seem to find online the rules booklet from the MB edition I grew up with. But in the rules I remember, there are no such restrictions on which box you may fill – the joker is just something that becomes available when you roll a Yahtzee if you have already filled both your Yahtzee box and the relevant upper section box. But if you haven't filled the relevant upper section box, you're still free to score it as 3OAK, 4OAK or Chance, or to zero FH, LS or HS, or to zero one of your upper section boxes (not that you'd ever want to zero a box in this scenario, though you may well want to seize the opportunity to fill your 3OAK or 4OAK). So there is never a restriction on which of your unfilled boxes you may fill at a given time - all that happens is that the combination of Yahtzee on the dice, Yahtzee box already filled and corresponding upper section box already filled means that you can score in FH, LS or HS as if you actually have that combination.
Moreover, if one plays by the compulsory joker rule, then being able to score a Yahtzee as 3OAK or 4OAK might as well be considered part of the joker rule. It would only make a difference in one specific scenario, namely that in which you haven't filled your Yahtzee box yet, and roll a Yahtzee but may decide to score it as 3/4OAK instead. But it is never advantageous to do so.
Does anybody have a copy of the MB rules booklet to confirm? It would be nice if we can improve the article to address differences between different versions of the rules such as this. — Smjg (talk) 12:29, 21 March 2015 (UTC)
Mention what the -zee comes from too, in an all new etymology section. Jidanni (talk) 02:27, 20 June 2015 (UTC)
"Yahtzee" sounds very similar to "one, two" in Cantonese. "http://www.wikihow.com/Count-from-1-to-10-in-Cantonese" spells it "yuht, ngee" and if counting quickly, running the words together, it sounds pretty close to "yahtzee." Perhaps a native Cantonese (and English) speaker would offer their opinion. I lived in Hong Kong for 10 years, 50 years ago and am of wide and disparate European/Caucasian stock so I'm no expert. I am aware of the commonly accepted etymology but there could have been Cantonese players in the background influencing the pronunciation of the new name.Ecstatist (talk) 04:36, 28 June 2016 (UTC)
In the upper part example is a mistake: no-one would put lone 5 in 5 box unless it's the last open and dices just fall that way. But if it's the last one then the one in 4's should have been in 5's. Linkato1 (talk) 05:19, 19 September 2019 (UTC)
Are there any sources or photographs of the original “Yatzie” game from the 1940s from the National Association Service? Our websites seem to repeat that information but there doesn’t seem to be any source of truth. Charger2 (talk) 00:20, 18 April 2021 (UTC)
wow thanks for responding. I’ll wait for other possible responses. That’s more than I found. I would love to cite this in the future or amend the history of it warrants it. This is a great start. Thank you Charger2 (talk) 00:12, 19 April 2021 (UTC)
Given the nature of the content in that particular section and that a cursory search of Yahtzee didn't particularly lend to any significant additions that would make the section more relevant, I took the liberty of deleting the section in its entirety. If someone else finds Yahtzee represented in a film, book or other media, perhaps it would be worthwhile to reintroduce the section then. - Suyibai (talk) 00:31, 6 December 2021 (UTC)
When can "chance" be used? My understanding is "any time you choose" based on one rule written that said "use when you can't place your final roll in a category (or don't want to). A later version of the game has rules that omit the "or don't want to" which some people interpret as you must use your final roll in any vacant box that is contained in the final roll (no choice to opt out). I've never played it that way and see this version as a poor translation of the original rule. Help! 2001:8003:E858:B900:812C:F5F6:E4DB:ED28 (talk) 11:27, 10 February 2022 (UTC)
The strategy section of the article lists probabilities for a variety of outcomes, but there is no source given for these calculations. Neither is there an explanation for the probability theory used. On the surface, it looks like original unsourced research. I've seen a few explanations on Yahtzee websites, but I am not competent to review them. The same goes for scholarly references. This section in particular looks like it needs the attention of an expert. 84.52.232.43 (talk) 14:19, 30 December 2022 (UTC)
@BOZ: What is this section? Is there anything encyclopedic here? Are any reliable sources involved? I have perused the cited sources, and found where Yahtzee is mentioned, but I cannot see what I or any other reader might learn from these. Bruce leverett (talk) 05:51, 8 February 2023 (UTC)
These sections, which often simply list reviewer comments with little organization, make for clunky writing and dull reading.