Yahtzee Free for all Game Rules

Components

Gameboard
36 Chips
36 Cards
30 Dice
Rulebook

Object of the Game

Roll your dice to take cards from the center spaces or steal them from your opponents' Home spaces.

Bank (keep) each card for points if no one steals it before your next turn. To win, have the most points when the cards and chips run out.

Never Played Yahtzee

No problem! Yahtzee Free for All is based on the classic game of Yahtzee, but you don't need any Yahtzee experience to play. Just keep reading!

Setup

Unwrap the game parts and discard or recycle the waste. Then lay out the gameboard and set up your game as shown in the center photo.

The Cards:

Remove the six Yahtzee cards and place them near the gameboard. Then shuffle the card deck and place it facedown on the Yahtzee Free for All logo.

Draw the top three cards, and place one card faceup on each of the three center card spaces.
The Chips:

Place the chips in a pile near the gameboard. You'll be placing them on the circles during the game.
The Dice:

Each player takes five dice. Place any unused dice out of play.

Read all about Yahtzee Cards and Chips on the flip side of this board.

The Cards

On each of your turns, you'll roll your dice to try to take a card from a center space, or steal a card from an opponent's Home space. The cards are described below.

Number Cards

(ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, And Sixes)

To take a Number card, you must roll one or more of the matching number. To steal one, you must roll more dice of that number than an opponent rolled. If you bank the card, you'll score the point value listed on the bottom.

Combo Cards

To take a Combo card, you must roll the matching dice combination. To steal one, you must match the card and have a higher dice total than your opponent rolled.

If you bank the card, you'll score the point value listed on the bottom.

Yahtzee Cards

To take a Yahtzee card, you must roll 5 dice of the same number.

To steal one, you must roll a Yahtzee of a higher number than your opponent rolled. If you bank a Yahtzee card, you'll secure a whopping 10 points!

The Chips

Whenever a player does not take a center card on his turn, he places one chip below each center card. Players take the chips when they take the cards. Each chip is worth one point, so the stakes go up when the chips are down!

All of the dice combos are explained below:

Small Straight

Roll 4 dice with consecutive numbers.

Large Straight

Roll 5 dice with consecutive numbers.

Full House

Roll 2 dice of one number, and 3 dice of another number.

Three of a Kind

Roll 3 or more dice of the same number.

Four of a Kind

Roll 4 or more dice of the same number.

Chance

Roll any combination of dice - the higher, the better.

Game Play

You've set up your game and learned the card basics. Now you're ready to roll! Pick a player to start. Play will then move to the left.

One your turn:

Bank it if ya got it.

(This step does not apply on your first turn). If you have a card on your Home space, bank it by placing it facedown in front of your, off the board. This card is now yours to keep for points.

Roll your dice

Roll all 5 of your dice to try to match any card on the gameboard, either from a center space or form an opponent's Home space.

You may roll your dice up to 3 times. After your first roll, you may stop and take or steal a card; or you may reroll any or all of your dice again.

After your second roll, you may stop and take or steal a card; or you may reroll any or all of your dice again. After the third roll, you must stop. Take or steal a card if you can; if not, your turn is a bust.

You can take or steal only one card per turn. Place the card faceup on your Home Space. Then place your dice, as rolled, into your dice slot.

Table Talk:

Yep, it's allowed, even encouraged! You have several options on your turn, some of which may affect your opponents. So they may have a lot to say as you're deciding what to do!

Taking a Card

If your final dice roll matches a card on a center space, you may take the card and place it on your Home space. You can bank this card on your next turn, if no opponent steals it before then.

Bank any chips that were below that card, by placing them in front of you, off the board. Each chip is worth one point. Since you bank chips immediately, they can never be stolen.

If you match more than one card on a center space, choose one card to take.

Example: With this roll, you can take either the Twos card or the 3 of a Kind card. You take 3 of a Kind for more points.

Stealing a Card

If your final dice roll matches a card on an opponent's Home space, you may steal that card if your dice beat your opponent's dice. When you steal a card, place it on your Home space.

Stealing a Number card:

To steal a Number card, you must roll more dice of the matching number than your opponent's dice show.

Example: You rolled 3 Fives, which beats the 2 Fives that an opponent rolled for his Fives card. You can steal the card.
Stealing A Combo Card:

To steal a Combo card, you must roll the matching dice combination, and have a higher dice total than your opponent's dice show.

Example: Your Small Straight beats an opponent's Small Straight because the total of your dice is higher
Stealing a Yahtzee card:

To do this, you must roll a Yahtzee of a higher number than your opponent's dice show.

Rolling a Yahtzee

If you roll 5 of a kind, take a Yahtzee card from the card pile; or, if there's a Yahtzee card on an opponent's Home space and you can beat that dice roll, you may steal that card.

Going Bust

If your final dice roll does not match any card on the gameboard, you bust. Better luck next turn!

Ending your Turn

If you took a center card, replace it: If you took a card from a center space, replace it with a new card from the deck.
If you didn't take a center card, place chips: On any turn that you don't take a center space card, place one chip below each center space with a card. This means that if you stole a card, rolled a Yahtzee or busted, you must place chips.

End of the Game

Keep playing until one of the following happens, which ends your game:

The card deck runs out, leaving fewer than 3 cards on the center spaces; or
The chips run out, leaving fewer than 3 chips to place on the center card spaces.

All players total the points on their banked cards, then add 1 point for each of their chips. The highest-scoring player wins!

Variantions

For a 2-player game: each player controls three Home spaces.

For a 3-player game: each player controls two Home spaces. Play is the same in a 2 or 3-player game, with this exception: if you have more than one card on a Home space, chose only one to bank.