Porchlight › How to play › Yacht
How to play Yacht
A dice game for two to four players. Roll five dice and fill a scorecard of thirteen boxes, one box per turn.
The aim
Finish with the highest total. Each box scores a different combination, and every box must be filled, even if that means scoring a zero.
Setting up
Everyone starts with an empty card. The order of play is drawn at random. The game lasts thirteen rounds, with one turn each per round.
Playing
On your turn:
- Roll all five dice.
- If you like, hold any of the dice and roll the rest. You can do this twice, for up to three rolls in all.
- Choose an empty box and score your dice in it.
You can score after any roll, and change which dice you hold between rolls. If your dice don't fit the box you choose, it scores 0. A filled box stays filled.
Scoring
Upper section
| Box | Scores |
|---|---|
| Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, Sixes | The total of the dice showing that number |
Upper bonus. If your six upper boxes add up to 63 or more (the equivalent of three of each number), you score 35 extra points.
Lower section
| Box | You need | Scores |
|---|---|---|
| Three of a kind | At least three dice the same | Total of all five dice |
| Four of a kind | At least four dice the same | Total of all five dice |
| Full house | Three of one number and two of another | 25 |
| Small straight | Four numbers in sequence | 30 |
| Large straight | Five numbers in sequence | 40 |
| Yacht | All five dice the same | 50 |
| Chance | Anything | Total of all five dice |
Extra Yachts
If you roll a Yacht when your Yacht box is already filled, the dice must go:
- in the matching upper box, if it's empty (five fours go in Fours);
- otherwise in any empty lower box, scoring that box's full value (25 as a full house, 40 as a large straight, and so on);
- otherwise in any empty upper box, for 0.
If your Yacht box holds 50, each extra Yacht also earns a 100-point bonus, whichever box it goes in. If your Yacht box holds a zero, the placement rules above still apply but there is no bonus.
Winning
After thirteen rounds, every card is full. Your total is every box plus your bonuses. The highest total wins. Equal totals share a place.
Table options
| Option | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Computer players | Easy, Normal or Hard | Normal |
| Turn timer | Normal, Relaxed (twice as long), Quick (half as long) | Normal |
Ranked games are one on one and always use the defaults.
On Porchlight
- Press Roll, or the R key, to roll. The button shows how many rolls you have left.
- Click a die, or press 1 to 5, to hold it or release it. Held dice lift up and are marked HELD.
- On your turn, your column on the card shows what each empty box would score with your current dice. Click a number to score it. Zeros are shown in red.
- On other players' turns, their column shows what their dice would score.
- A row under the upper boxes tracks progress toward the 63 needed for the bonus.
On a Normal timer you have 40 seconds for each roll or choice. If time runs out, the computer moves for you. If it runs out twice in a row, you're out of the game: a computer player takes your seat and you're placed last (in a two-player game, you forfeit). The same happens if you leave, or if your connection drops and you don't come back within about a minute.
The host can fill empty seats with computer players. Play with bots sets up a game against one.
Tips
- Go for the upper bonus early. Four sixes or four fives make up for a weak number elsewhere.
- Save Chance for a turn when nothing else fits.
- If you have to take a zero, put it somewhere cheap, such as Ones.
- For a straight, hold three or four dice in sequence and roll the rest.