10 Games Like Yahtzee to Play Free Online (2026)

Yahtzee was introduced in 1956 by toy maker Edwin S. Lowe, who bought the idea from a Canadian couple who played it on their yacht. The brand passed to Milton Bradley and is now owned by Hasbro. It belongs to a family of older dice games such as Generala, popular in Latin America, and Yacht, a public-domain game with similar categories. Roll 5 dice up to three times a turn; score into 13 categories; highest total wins. Here are 12 free browser games like Yahtzee with the same dice-strategy DNA.

Key takeaways

The closest match is Farkle: another roll-and-hold dice game, played against a CPU to 10,000 points.
Cribbage scratches the same itch with cards: you score combinations like fifteens, pairs and runs.
Backgammon and Dominoes keep the luck-plus-planning balance in a board or tile game.
Blackjack, Video Poker and Roulette use play chips or credits only, never real money.
Every game here runs free in your browser with no download or account.

What makes a game feel like Yahtzee?

Yahtzee mixes three things: randomness you can partly control (rerolling), a scoring menu you have to fill, and a running tension between taking a safe score now and pushing for a bigger one. The best Yahtzee alternatives keep at least two of those.

The list below starts with the closest dice games and moves outward to card and board games that share the decision-making, then to pure-chance games that only share the thrill of the roll.

1. Yahtzee

The 1956 classic, now a Hasbro brand. 13 categories: Ones through Sixes, Three of a Kind, Four of a Kind, Full House, Straights, Yahtzee, Chance. Our version is a solo game: click dice to hold them between rolls, and the scorecard previews what each open box would score before you commit. It keeps your best total on the same device. Play Yahtzee.

2. Farkle

Hot-dice game. Roll, hold scoring dice, bank or roll again. Strategy vs. greed tension. Ours uses six dice against a CPU opponent, first to 10,000: single 1s and 5s score, three of a kind and bigger sets score more, and a 1-6 straight or three pairs is worth 1,500. Roll with no scoring dice and you “farkle,” losing everything from that turn. Play Farkle.

3. Cribbage

If the part of Yahtzee you love is spotting scoring combinations, Cribbage is the card-game equivalent. You discard two cards to the crib, then play to 31 while scoring fifteens, pairs and runs, and finally count your hand. Our two-player version runs to 121 against the computer and counts hands and the crib for you. Play Cribbage.

4. Dominoes

Different but related — tile-matching with strategic placement. Same casual-strategy feel. Ours is the draw game against a CPU: match a tile to either end of the line, draw from the boneyard when you can’t play, and empty your hand first. Play Dominoes.

5. Backgammon

Dice + strategy on a board. Same dice-luck-meets-skill balance. Each roll forces a choice about which checkers to move, and you race the CPU to bear off all 15. For more in this vein, see our list of games like Backgammon. Play Backgammon.

6. Mancala

Stone-sowing strategy. Different but the same patient-strategy feel. There’s no luck at all here, just counting ahead: land in your store for an extra turn, or in an empty pit of yours to capture. Play the CPU on Easy, Medium or Hard, or a friend in 2 Players mode. Play Mancala.

7. Blackjack

Different randomness (cards not dice) but same hit-or-stand probability calculation. The dealer stands on 17, blackjack pays 3:2, and you can double or split. You play with chips that stay in your browser, not money. Play Blackjack.

8. Video Poker

Jacks or Better. Hold cards; draw replacements. Same hand-strategy headspace. It’s the closest card-game cousin to a Yahtzee reroll: one deal, one chance to choose what to keep, then you live with the draw. Play Video Poker.

9. Roulette

Pure chance, but the betting strategy parallels Yahtzee’s category-allocation decisions. Our wheel is the European single-zero layout, with red/black, dozens, columns and straight-up bets, all with play chips. Play Roulette.

10. Slot Machine

Random outcomes and no decisions, so it only captures the anticipation of a Yahtzee roll, not the strategy. Play Slot Machine.

11. Higher Lower

Probability-based prediction. Different format but same risk-assessment thinking. Guess whether the next item’s number is higher or lower across categories like country populations and mountain heights; one wrong guess ends the streak. Play Higher Lower.

12. Mastermind

No dice, but the same loop of trying something, reading the result and adjusting. Each guess at the hidden color code earns black pegs (right color, right spot) and white pegs (right color, wrong spot). Three difficulty levels and an optional duplicates setting change the challenge. Play Mastermind.

Yahtzee alternatives compared

Game	Source of luck	Your main decision	Opponent
Yahtzee	5 dice, up to 3 rolls	Which dice to keep, which box to fill	Solo (beat your best)
Farkle	6 dice	Bank now or roll again	CPU
Cribbage	Shuffled cards	What to discard, what to play	Computer
Dominoes	Drawn tiles	Which tile, which end	CPU
Backgammon	2 dice	Which checkers to move	CPU
Mancala	None	Which pit to sow	CPU or a friend
Blackjack	Cards	Hit, stand, double or split	Dealer
Video Poker	Cards	Which cards to hold	Paytable
Roulette	Wheel	Where to bet	House
Slot Machine	Reels	Bet size only	Machine
Higher Lower	Order of items	Higher or lower	Solo streak
Mastermind	Hidden code	What to guess next	Solo

How to choose your next dice strategy game

You want the same game with a rival: Farkle. It keeps the roll-and-hold rhythm and adds a CPU opponent and the risk of losing a whole turn.
You love filling in the scorecard: Cribbage, where every hand is a little scoring puzzle.
You like dice but want a board: Backgammon.
You want strategy with no luck: Mancala or Mastermind.
You only want a quick roll of the dice: Video Poker or Higher Lower, both done in a minute.

Why is Yahtzee considered a strategic game?

Because every roll involves probability calculation. Should you take a 4-of-a-kind now, or reroll the odd die for Yahtzee? The expected value depends on which categories you’ve already filled. A good Yahtzee player plans several turns ahead, deciding when to take ‘good enough’ scores and when to push for the maximum.

Is there an optimal Yahtzee strategy?

Yes. Computer scientists including Tom Verhoeff and James Glenn have computed it for solo play: perfect strategy averages about 254.59 points per game. Casual players typically score well below that. The biggest gap comes from chasing the Upper Section bonus (35 extra points if your Ones through Sixes total 63 or more, the same as three of each) and using Chance as a dumping ground for terrible rolls.

A few habits help in our version too:

Know the fixed boxes. Full House is worth 25, Small Straight (four in a row) 30, Large Straight 40 and Yahtzee 50, whatever the dice add up to.
Read the preview. After each roll, the scorecard shows what every open box would score, so you can compare options before you click.
Plan for a second Yahtzee. Official rules add a bonus for extra Yahtzees; our version doesn’t, so once the Yahtzee box is filled, a second one is best spent on an upper box, Three or Four of a Kind, or Chance.

Our full guide to playing Yahtzee strategically walks through these decisions turn by turn.

Yahtzee vs. Farkle

Both are dice-strategy games. Yahtzee is structured (13 fixed categories); Farkle is open-ended (any combination scores something). Farkle has higher variance — you can bust on any roll. Yahtzee has lower variance — you never lose banked points, though some turns force you to scratch a zero in a box. Pick Yahtzee for casual; Farkle for high-stakes.

A dice roller for tabletop games

If you are playing a dice game on paper and the real dice are missing, Dice Roller rolls up to 20 dice at once, from d4 to d100, with totals and a roll history. It also reads notation like 4d6dl1, so it covers board games and tabletop RPGs as well as five-dice games.

Frequently asked questions

What game is most like Yahtzee?

Farkle is the closest. Both are about rolling dice, keeping the useful ones and deciding when to stop. Farkle swaps Yahtzee’s scorecard for banking points, with the risk of losing the whole turn.

Can I play Yahtzee online for free?

Yes. Our free Yahtzee game runs in your browser with no download or account. It’s a solo game of 13 rounds, and your best score is saved on the same device.

Is Yahtzee a game of luck or skill?

Both. Any single game can swing on the dice, but choices about which dice to keep and which box to fill add up over many games. That’s why computed optimal play averages well above what casual players usually score.

What’s the difference between Yahtzee and Yacht?

Yacht is an older public-domain dice game with similar categories, and Yahtzee is the trademarked commercial version. The exact categories and scores vary between rulesets, so check which version you’re playing.

Can I play a dice game against someone here?

Our Yahtzee is solo, but Farkle and Backgammon put you against a CPU. For two people on one screen, Mancala has a 2 Players mode.

Do the casino-style games use real money?

No. Blackjack, Video Poker, Roulette and Slot Machine use play chips or credits stored in your browser. Nothing is bought, paid out or cashed in.

Between dice sessions, the Chrome Dino game on our homepage is a one-button palate cleanser.

12 Games Like Yahtzee — Free Dice Strategy Games Online