How to play Yamb

Yamb is the Balkan branch of the Yatzy family, played with five dice on a grid rather than a single column. Draw the sheet yourself: the rows are ones to sixes, max, min, straight, full house, poker and yamb, and each player gets four columns side by side. One to six players works, but expect a longer game than regular Yatzy.

The turn itself is familiar: roll five dice, keep what you like and reroll the rest, up to two more times. Then enter the result in an open box on your sheet.

What makes Yamb special is that the column decides where you are allowed to write. You do not fill the sheet freely, but plan your way through four columns that each follow their own rule. The game ends when every box is filled.

Each column has its own filling order:

• Down: filled from the top, one row at a time. Your first entry must go on the ones, the next on the twos, and so on.
• Up: filled from the bottom, starting with the yamb row and working towards the ones.
• Free: filled in any order, like ordinary Yatzy.
• Announce: here you must call out which row you are going for right after your first roll, and the result must be written there no matter how the next two rolls turn out.

The rows score the same way in all four columns. A common setup:

• Ones to sixes: the sum of the dice showing that number. If the column reaches at least 60 points here, it earns a 30 point bonus.
• Max and min: the sum of all five dice, aiming as high as possible on max and as low as possible on min. The difference between the two is multiplied by the points on the ones row in the same column.
• Straight: five in sequence. It is worth most on the first roll and less on the second and third, for example 66, 56 and 46 points.
• Full house: three of a kind plus a pair, the sum of the dice plus 30.
• Poker: four of a kind, the sum of those four plus 40.
• Yamb: five of a kind, the sum plus 50.

When the whole grid is filled, all four columns are totalled, including bonuses and the max/min arithmetic. The player with the highest grand total wins. Keep the bookkeeping tidy as you go, because the numbers pile up quickly.

Yamb exists in countless house versions across the Balkans. Some play with six dice, others add extra columns, for example one where you may only score on your first roll. Straight values and bonus thresholds vary from table to table, so agree on the details before you start.

If the grid feels like too much, Yatzy gives you the same core game with a single column, while Generala is another relative with quirks of its own.

In the announce column you commit to a row after just one roll. If you call poker and the next two rolls never produce four of a kind, you still have to write in the poker row, usually a zero. Experienced players tend to announce safe rows early and save the bold calls for turns where the first roll already looks promising.