Yahtzee is similar to Yacht in both name and content. Wood classifies Yacht, and a similar three-dice game called Crag, as sequence dice games. The most important predecessor of Yahtzee is the dice game Yacht, which is an English cousin of Generala and dates back to at least 1938. Among these are the game Generala, the German game of Kniffel and the English games of Poker Dice and Cheerio. The overall concept of Yahtzee traces its roots to a number of traditional dice games. A classic edition is currently being marketed by Winning Moves Games USA. According to the current owner, Hasbro, as of 2007, 50 million Yahtzee games are sold each year. During Lowe's ownership, over 40 million Yahtzee games were sold worldwide. Lowe Company and assumed the rights to produce and sell Yahtzee.

In 1973, the Milton Bradley Company purchased the E.S. The winner is the player who scores the most points. A Yahtzee is five-of-a-kind and scores 50 points, the highest of any category. The scoring categories have varying point values, some of which are fixed values and others for which the score depends on the value of the dice. Once a category has been used in the game, it cannot be used again. After each round, the player chooses which scoring category is to be used for that round.

The dice can be rolled up to three times in a turn to try to make various scoring combinations and dice must remain in the box. The objective of the game is to score points by rolling five dice to make certain combinations. It is also similar to Yatzy, which is popular in Scandinavia. The game is a development of earlier dice games such as Poker Dice, Yacht and Generala. It was first marketed under the name of Yahtzee by game entrepreneur Edwin S. Yahtzee is a dice game made by Milton Bradley (a company that has since been acquired and assimilated by Hasbro).

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