An Overview of Yahtzee

Oh, do you remember that distinctive sound of the dice in that plastic cup. It takes me back. Do you recall shaking the dice with your hand over the opening, trying not to let them spill over, and all about? Nevertheless, of course, if you were playing with siblings, you totally- on accident- let the dice escape. Yahtzee was and still is one of the best family games round.

It is a game where the object of the game is to score the most points by rolling five dice to make certain combinations. Each player has up to three rolls a turn in an attempt to make one of thirteen possible scoring combinations. A Yahtzee game is comprised of thirteen rounds. Each player, throughout the game, elects what combination to use for that turn. Once a choice is made, it cannot be altered or switched with another combination during another round. (Something most children have all attempted at one time or another - me, included.)

Each of the scoring combinations has a different point value, some of which are set values and others of which have the cumulative value of the dice. A Yahtzee is a five-of-a-kind and holds the game's highest point value of 50. Can you recall yelling out Yahtzee when you rolled it?

My sister and I grew up with that game. It was a regular feature at family fun night. Our father, a most auspicious man to us, was not an avid game player on games played inside, with cards, boards, or dice.

However, we all had fun with this game. As our father stated to us repeatedly, it cannot be such a humdrum of a game if you need math skills to play it well. Play it well we all did indeed. We loved that game.

It was all about skill and luck- and are those not just the best?

When my children turned five and three respectively, Santa presented them with Yahtzee Jr. The love of the game began to repeat itself with our next generation. As they grew, the games have evolved. We have gone from Jr, to the classic, to our current the Texas Holdem' Version. We still have the deluxe version for when we want to get fancy and no road trip is complete without our Travel Version of this game.

This game has it all-drama, laughter and fun, skill, luck and chance. In our house, it can include physical activity as they bounce and dance around with the cup of dice. We have made copies of the score sheets-hundreds of times. However, they go sell score sheet replacement packs. We love this game and it never grows old or becomes boring.

This game is for all ages. Moreover, to me, that is what makes it the best. Grandparents, parents, children, and grand children can all play this game together. Talk about multigenerational fun.