Yahtzee, the game of dice, is undoubtedly one of our all-time favorites. As always, we can’t help but turn every fun game into an even more fun one: the drinking version of that exact game! Don’t you worry bout a thing tho’, even if you don’t know to play the classic game. We will explain everything meticulously!
- How to play regular Yahtzee?;
- What do you need to play drinking Yahtzee?;
- Yahtzee drinking game rules;
- Final thoughts;
How To Play Regular Yahtzee?
Yahtzee doesn’t have any complicated rules, however, it takes a while to master. First things first, regular Yahtzee can be played by everyone who is 8 or older, and the game works well if played by 2 or more players. However, it makes a better experience if played by large groups. The main things needed to play Yahtzee are definitely the scorepad and the 5 dice (available on Amazon (for $6.97)).
The scorepad is divided into 2 parts: the upper section and the lower section. We’ll explain the main rules, shortly, for those two sections:
- The upper section. Your goal in this section is to score at least 63 points. It contains a total of 6 boxes, which will be filled depending on the values of 5 dice when you roll them. If you achieve 63 points, you get a bonus of 35 points at the end of the game.
- The lower section. Now, we won’t have numbers written in the boxes. Each box will contain terms like ‘three of a kind’, ‘four of a kind’, ‘full house’, ‘small/large straight’, ‘Yahtzee’, and ‘chance’. Once you manage to hit these, you get specific points (e.g. if you get 3 same values of dice – three of a kind, it’s equal to 21 points).
If you understand properly these two sections, you’re ready to start playing. All you gotta do is roll the dice individually or in teams, and keep track. The game is finished when all players have taken 13 turns each. Once that happens, you calculate the total score based on the scorepad, and whoever has the highest score, wins. Just as in most board games.
If interested in more details about the rules of the standard version, since this is not what this article is about, check this video: How To Play Yahtzee.
What Do You Need To Play Drinking Yahtzee?
If you already know how to play normal Yahtzee, the drinking game doesn’t include anything much knotty either. Here’s everything you need before playing:
- 5 dice. Just like in the regular version.
- The scoresheet. It isn’t necessary to buy it though. We got a surprise for you! You can download the scoresheet for free here: yahtzee.pdf.
- Drinks for all players. This is all up to you. Beers work best, but to remain sober, use some non-alcoholic beverages as well.
- At least one more player. This can hardly be a single-player game, unfortunately. Yahtzee, the drinking is great for 2 and more players. If there are more than 6 people playing, you can play in teams.
Yahtzee Drinking Game Rules
This version, needless to say, the coolest one, is a great combination of the standard rules, and our extra drinking ideas. Just to be clear, you have to continue to use the above-mentioned rules (the upper section, the lower section, adding points, and all that). Then, you drink when the following cases happen:
- Ace is cursed. When you throw the dice, you have to drink for every Ace (or every One). If let’s say, you’ve got 5 Aces, you have to take 5 sips of your drink.
- The waterfall. Once a player gets a large or small straight, all players, starting from the thrower, start a waterfall.
- Yahtzee. If we didn’t explain this already, Yahtzee happens when you get 5 of a kind. Now, at the drinking game, when this happens, you can give drinks based on the number of Yahtzee. For instance, if you got all 3s, you can make 3 people drink, or make one player take 3 sips.
- Filthy cheater. As you know, you can cheat in Yahtzee as much as your conscience allows. But, if you get caught cheating, you have to finish your drink ASAP.
- Everyone drinks when it’s a pair of Six. Yup. That’s right. If 2 of your dice show 6, everyone in the group drinks.
- No dice roll until shots are completed. Once someone is punished to drink, the next player in turn shouldn’t roll the dice until they finish drinking. If they throw the dice and the ‘punished player’ is still drinking, the thrower takes one drink too.
- Drink for an extra roll. If you need just a few points to achieve your goal, you can get one extra roll (for all 5 dice). That will cost you to finish your drink.
- End of the game rules. This is directly related to the winner. Once you calculate all points, all the other players besides the winner drink, based on these:
- One sip if the difference between your points and the winner is 25 to 50 points;
- Two sips if the difference is 50 to 100 points.
- Finish your drink if the difference is 100 or more points. That’s huge.
Based on our experiences, and believe me, there are a lot of them, this is just enough rules for you and your clique to get tipsy. If you’ve got anything else in your mind, any extra rules, feel free to add them to our list or modify any of ours.
Final Thoughts
Yahtzee is cool. There are no disagreements. This drinking version is definitely a game-changer. It’s simple, and flexible when it comes to the number of players, and rules can be customized as well. And it doesn’t require any expensive equipment to play either! If you play it once, you’re gonna fall in love. Period.