The first Classic game to review is obviously Yahtzee. I have been playing Yahtzee as long as I can remember. Whenever we would visit my grandparents there was always a game and I loved it. It was so great for quality time and it gave me a lot of good memories. So I might be a bit biased, but I will forever love yahtzee. After my grandma had died, I went shopping for the best version I could find, this is one game that will always be a part of my collection.

I’m not alone, according to the internet Hasbro sells 50 million games each year. That’s a lot of Yahtzee and not bad for a game patented in 1956. Admittedly I am wonder how they are selling this many… Are people losing the dice? Do they love the game so much they buy it twice? Whatever the reason it is worth the money.

If you have never played, Yahtzee is a dice game with the goal of having the most points. Each turn, players roll the dice, count their points and place them in one of the 13 categories on the score sheet. The game is over after the 13th turn. This is for ages 8 and up, but could play younger with some help. It is for 2 or more players, I suggest cutting off at around 6 so it’s not boring in between turns. This is a great game for kids, theres a lot of counting and addition for little ones to work on their math skills.

Each turn a player will roll the dice. They can keep what they roll or re-roll in hopes of getting something better. Each turn you can roll the dice a max of 3 times.

There are two sections for keeping score, the upper and lower. Once a box has a score it cannot be scored again so be careful and choose wisely. Closer to the end of the game when there are less choices it gets more difficult and you may have to score zero on harder categories.

The Upper Section is for scoring the total of a specific number.  For example if you were going for 3s and rolled a 3, 5,3,2,1 your score would be 6.  The upper section also has a bonus to pay attention to, if you roll 63 or more you get a 35 point bonus which is pretty significant.

The lower section has categories with a set amount for points, you need to get the combination of dice to get those points.

3 of a Kind – you need 3 of the same number.  Add the numbers on all the 5 dice for your points.  for example 3,6,4,4,4 would be 21 points.

4 of a Kind – this is the same as 3 of a kind except you need 4 matching dice.

Small Straight – this is 4 dice in a sequence. For example, 2,3,4,5.  This is worth 30 points.

Large Straight – this is 5 dice in a sequence.  This is worth 40 points.

Full House – this is a 3 of kind with a 2 of a kind.  For example 4,5,4,5,5.  This is worth 25 points.

YAHTZEE – This is the one everyone is excited about.  This is a 5 of a kind worth 50 points.  If you are extra lucky and get another one, you get 100 bonus points plus you add that roll to another category.  You can read the rules for specifics, but this seldom happens it’s not much of a concern.

Chance – whatever you roll is the score for this space.  It’s perfect for when you don’t really have anything useful.  

So that’s it. Each turn turn you roll the dice and log your score. Then at the end add, them up to see who wins. To me this is the ulitmate classic.