How to play Five Dice

Five Dice is the old family game of rolling for combinations. On each turn you roll up to three times, keep the dice you like, and then write a score in one empty box of your scorecard. When every box is filled, the highest total wins.

A turn, step by step

Tap Roll to throw all the dice.
Tap the dice you want to keep. Kept dice move to the front of the tray and stay put.
Roll the rest again. You get three rolls in total, and you can stop early.
Tap a box on the scorecard to score it. The faint numbers show what each box would be worth right now.

Every box must be filled exactly once. If nothing fits, you still have to choose a box and take a zero there.

The Classic scorecard

Box	What you need	Score
Ones to Sixes	Any dice	Total of that number only
Upper bonus	Ones to Sixes add up to 63 or more	35
Three of a kind	At least three the same	Total of all five dice
Four of a kind	At least four the same	Total of all five dice
Full house	Three of one number and two of another	25
Small straight	Four in a row, like 2-3-4-5	30
Large straight	Five in a row: 1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6	40
Five of a kind	All five the same	50
Chance	Anything	Total of all five dice

Extra five of a kind: if you already scored 50 in Five of a kind and roll it again, you get a 100 point bonus, and that roll can also count as a Full house or either straight.

The Yamb scorecard

Yamb is how millions of families in Central and Southern Europe play five dice. The scorecard has several columns, and each column has its own rule for the order you fill it in. It takes longer than Classic and rewards planning. Choose it when you start a new game, and pick the columns you like.

Column	Rule
Down	Fill from the top box to the bottom, in order.
Up	Fill from the bottom box to the top, in order.
Free	Fill in any order.
Call	Right after your first roll, call the box you are going for. You then have to score that box this turn, even if it is a zero.
Hand (optional)	Only scores from your first roll, no second chances.

Box	Score
Ones to Sixes	Total of that number. If the six boxes in a column add up to 60 or more, that column gets 30 extra.
Max and Min	Total of five dice. Aim high in Max and low in Min. The column then earns (Max minus Min) times the number of Ones.
Straight	1-2-3-4-5 or 2-3-4-5-6: 66 on the first roll, 56 on the second, 46 on the third.
Three of a kind	Three times the number, plus 10.
Full house	Total of the five dice, plus 30.
Four of a kind	Four times the number, plus 40.
Yamb	Five the same: five times the number, plus 50.

Six dice: some families play Yamb with six dice. You roll all six and the best five are used for the box you choose. It makes big combinations easier, so scores run higher.

Tips

Chase the upper bonus early. Three of each number from Ones to Sixes is exactly 63 in Classic. Fours, Fives and Sixes do most of the work.
Do not waste Chance. Keep it for a turn that went badly late in the game.
Take the zero in the right place. If a turn fails, a zero in Ones or in Five of a kind usually hurts less than a weak score in a box you can still fill well.
In Yamb, use Free and Call for the hard boxes and let Down and Up take what comes. Call a box after a strong first roll, like four of a kind.
Max and Min work as a pair. A Max of 28 and a Min of 7 with three Ones is worth 63 extra points.

Ways to play

Against the computer: Easy plays like a beginner, Normal like a good family player, Sharp works out the odds of every roll.
Two on one device: pass the phone or tablet around the table. Up to four players.
Today's deal: everyone gets the very same dice today. Play the Classic card solo and see how your score compares.

Questions

Are the dice fair? Yes. Every roll is random, and in Today's deal every player gets the same rolls in the same order.

Do I need an account? No. Your game is saved in this browser, so you can close the page and continue later.