Yahtzee
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Yahtzee is the trademarked name of a popular dice game made by Milton Bradley (now owned by Hasbro). The object of the game is to score points by rolling certain combinations of numbers with five dice.
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Yahtzees and bonus chips
A Yahtzee occurs when all five dice have the same value during a player's turn. Yahtzees are one of the most difficult combinations to have in a game. If a player scores one or more additional yahtzees during the same game, that player is awarded bonus points and given bonus chips that correspond to each bonus yahtzee that a player rolls. Bonus yahtzees are worth 100 points each.
Scratching
If a player rolls their third and final roll during a turn and cannot match the combination of die faces into an unused scoring category, then that player must scratch out one of their unused scoring categories. All scratches result in that scoring category equalling zero points when the final score is added at the end of a game.
History
The game was invented in 1954 by an anonymous Canadian couple, and called "The Yacht Game" because they played it on their yacht with their friends. Two years later they asked toy and game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe if he would make up some sets to be given as gifts to their friends who enjoyed the game. Lowe perceived the possibility of marketing the game, and acquired the rights to the game from the couple in exchange for 1,000 gift sets.
Lowe changed the name to "Yahtzee." He initially had trouble selling the game commercially, since the rules and appeal were not easily conveyed in an advertisement. Eventually he had the idea of organizing "Yahtzee parties" where people could play the game and thereby earn a firsthand appreciation for it. The idea was successful, and enthusiasts quickly popularized the game through word of mouth. Milton-Bradley purchased the E. S. Lowe company in 1973.
A short-lived TV game show adaptation of Yahtzee was syndicated to local stations during the 1987 season.
External links
- Classic Yahtzee© official Hasbro page (http://www.hasbro.com/pl/page.viewproduct/product_id.9618/dn/games/default.cfm)
- The Rules of Yahtzee (Sourceforge) page (http://grail.sourceforge.net/demo/yahtzee/rules.html)
- Yahtzee to play online (http://www.kurnik.org/intl/en/dice/)
- Yahtzee online with high score lists (http://www.wartoft.nu/yahtzee/)de:Kniffel