Yahtzee
It's from 1956, before you were born.
- Maker
- E.S. Lowe / Hasbro
- Type
- Dice game
- Debuted
- 1956
- Note
- Reportedly invented by a couple to play on their yacht
As an Amazon Associate, OlderThan earns from qualifying purchases.
About
As of 2026, it's 70 years old.
Yahtzee rolled out in 1956 with a charming origin: a wealthy Canadian couple supposedly invented it to play on their yacht, calling it 'the yacht game,' until entrepreneur Edwin Lowe bought the rights and gave it the snappier name. The hook is rolling five dice up to three times to chase combinations like a full house, a straight, or the jackpot — five of a kind, a 'YAHTZEE!'
That moment of yelling 'Yahtzee!' when all five dice match, against odds of about 1 in 1,300 on a single roll, is one of gaming's great little dopamine hits. The rest is pleasant push-your-luck math on a scorepad.
Lucky, shout-worthy, and yacht-born, Yahtzee is the dice classic that turned rolling five cubes into a tradition worth screaming about.
