Does anyone else hear the sound of monkeys? You didn’t open the barrel of monkeys again did you? Oh, it’s game night so you broke out your new Donkey Kong Yahtzee game. So, it’s just like classic Yahtzee but themed after the iconic Super Nintendo Donkey Kong Country series. Sounds like a barrel of bananas – I mean, fun!
Yahtzee is a dice based game of luck, though some may argue there is a level of skill involved. The point of Yahtzee is to get the most points, which are based on rolling 5 dice. You get three rolls to make the best combinations possible.
Donkey Kong Yahtzee puts an arcade spin on a classic dice game!
Donkey Kong Yahtzee follows the same rules as traditional Yahtzee, but differs in appearance. The custom dice shaker is designed to look like a barrel with the ‘DK’ logo on the front. The cover is a pile of bananas, so when placed on the barrel it looks to be a full bushel of bananas.
Just like any game of Yahtzee, you’ll find five dice within the box. However, instead of just plain numbers 1-6, these dice have Super Nintendo Donkey Kong themed prints on each side. A banana is 1, a barrel is 2, Squawks the parrot is 3, Rambi the rhino is 4, Diddy Kong is 5, and Donkey Kong himself is the 6.
The addition of iconic SNES Donkey Kong Country characters is what really sets this game apart from a normal game of Yahtzee. Don’t worry, each side of the dice has the number printed alongside the character for easy recognition.
How do you play Donkey Kong Yahtzee?
Donkey Kong Yahtzee follows the same game rules as regular Yahtzee. Players take turns rolling the dice inside the dice shaker. You have up to 3 rolls to make the best “hand” possible. On each roll, you retain any dice you wish, and shake the remaining ones that aren’t held. If you’re happy with your hand after 1 or 2 rolls, you may end your turn early.
The object of Yahtzee is to score the most points by creating the best hand possible with your dice rolls, similar to 5 card poker. You can get points for 2 of a kind, 3 of a kind, a Full House, a small straight, or a large straight. However, unlike poker, you can get 5 of a kind in Yahtzee. When this happens, you shout ‘Yahtzee’ and are awarded the most points possible.
Another twist to the game of Yahtzee is that you can only get points for one type of ‘hand’ per game, with the exception of a Yahtzee. If you’re incredibly lucky, you can get credit for up to 4 Yahtzees per game. So, if you’ve already scored a Full House and roll another, you’re out of luck. You could take that as three of a kind though.
If you run out of ‘hands’ your best bet is to use the top of the scorecard, allowing you to score based on how many of a number you have. For instance, if you have rolled 3 threes and your three of a kind is filled, you take 9 points in the ‘threes’ score space. There is some skill here, as you’ll sometimes need to make hard decisions. Are four sixes better used up top for points, or should you take the 4 of a kind now and risk it later?
Additional Notes
- Recommended for ages 8+
- For 2 – 6 players, though more than 2 is generally more fun
- Comes in a box with clear window for view of game pieces
- Scoring pencil and notepad are also included
- 4.5 star rating – you’ll go bananas for this game!
Amazon.com
