Yacht Dice

Yacht Dice is a game of five dice and a score card with thirteen rows. Each turn you roll, keep what helps you, roll again, and finally write one score into one row. When all thirteen rows are full, the game is over and the totals are compared.

How to play

On your turn you may roll the five dice up to three times. After a roll, tap the dice you want to keep. They lift up to show they are held. Then roll again, and only the other dice are rolled. You can stop early if you like what you have.

When you are happy, tap a row on your score card and press Score it. Each row can be used once, so each turn fills exactly one row. If nothing fits well, you must still choose a row, and you may put a zero in one you do not expect to fill.

The rows are:

• Ones to Sixes: the total of just that number. Three fours in the Fours row scores 12.
• Three of a kind and Four of a kind: the total of all five dice.
• Full house: three of one number and two of another, worth 25.
• Small straight: four in a row, worth 30.
• Large straight: five in a row, worth 40.
• Yacht: all five dice the same, worth 50.
• Chance: any five dice, scoring their total.

If your top six rows total 63 or more, you earn a 35 point bonus. That is exactly three of each number, so any shortfall in one row must be made up in another.

The levels

The dice are the same on every level. What changes is the opposition.

• Easy: you play on your own and try to reach 180 points. A Hint button suggests what to keep and where to score.
• Medium: you play against a simple computer player. It tends to keep the most common number and does not always use all of its rolls.
• Hard: you play against a good computer player. It looks at what each row is worth before it decides which dice to hold.
• Expert: you play against a very strong computer player. It weighs every roll that is still to come, and it is hard to beat.

Today's game

Each day there is a Medium game against the simple computer player. The dice are worked out from a seed, so the roll sequence is the same for everyone. If you stop partway through, the game is saved.

Tips

1. On the first roll, keep the number you have most of. Several dice alike feed the upper rows, Three of a kind, Four of a kind and the Yacht row all at once.
2. Aim for the 63-point bonus. It is almost as much as a large straight, so try to make three of each number in the top rows, or four of a high number to cover a low one that came up short.
3. Do not chase a straight unless you already hold three or four of the numbers. Straights are fun but hard to complete.
4. Chance is your safety net. Leave it open as long as you can, so a poor final roll still has somewhere to go.
5. When a turn is bad, spend it on a row you were unlikely to fill well anyway, such as the Ones or the Yacht row, instead of ruining a good row.
6. A Full house is often easier to build than a Four of a kind. If you hold two pairs, keep both and roll the last die.
7. Watch the score of the computer on Medium and above. If it is far ahead, take bigger risks such as chasing the Yacht row.

Questions

Can I stop after one roll? Yes. Tap Score it whenever you like. You do not have to use all three rolls.

Do I have to fill a row each turn? Yes. Every turn ends by writing a score, even a zero, in one row.

What does Hint do? On Easy it shows which dice to hold, or which row to score. It needs at least one roll first.

How does the bonus work? Reach 63 or more in the top six rows and 35 points are added.