Nyout

Alternate Names

Yut, Yoot

No. of Players

Two, three, or four people can play.

Equipment

A Nyout board, or mal pan; four each of black and white stackable counters called ma or mal, meaning “horses”; and four binary dice, traditionally half-cylinders made by splitting a stick in half lengthwise called pam-nyout, are all required for play. A single normal die can be substituted and if a player rolls six, simply roll again. If playing with three players, each player will require a distinctive color of three mal. Traditional boards are often made of stitched cloth and may be either round or square, but there are always twenty-nine cells. The design and layout of the cells on the board are typically believed to have astrological significance. The four large cells at the corner are typically given cardinal direction names. Here, red = north, blue = west, green = south, and orange = east. Also traditionally, the counters were decorated with images of horses.

History

This Korean race game was first described in English by Stewart Culin in 1895. Of interest, very similar boards, topologically equivalent, are found in the archaeology of the ancient Mayans of Central America and Mexico at the sites of Palenque and Chichen Itza. Although it is possible that the Korean and American games are not related, this may represent a possible link or connection between Northeast Asia and the American Indians, possibly even suggesting the populating of the Americas by this route. Further, if this were true it would indicate that this game is indeed very old, spanning several millennia. It is not known how the Central American games were played. A similar game is also recorded from 3rd century China.

The Nyout board, dice and game have all been used historically for divination in Korea. Nyout is still popular in Korea today and is both a gambling and a friendly family game.

Objective

The goal is for a player to enter their mal at the point to the left of the North (here red) cell, move all of their mals all the way around the board, and finally bear them off from the North cell.

Play

If playing with two players each player has four mals of a single color. If playing with three players each player has three mals of a single color. If playing with four players, there are two players in a partnership and the game is the same as for two players only that the two players of the partnership take turns making the moves for their team. Each partnership team has four mal of a single color that may be moved or entered by either player of the partnership.

Each player begins with their mal off of the board. The dice (or die) are thrown and the highest throw moves first. Alternate turns entail a throw of the four binary dice to determine how to move one of your mal. There are five different combinations, each with its own name, which may occur when throwing four binary dice and two of the different rolls allow a player to roll agin after making their first move.

Mals are entered at the circle to the immediate left of the north cell, here marked in red, and move in a counter-clockwise direction around the circle. For example, if a player throws mo as their initial move, they would end up with one mal at the large blue circle on their left side. A throw of mo or yut awards another move and it is not required to move the same mal on this second move. Also, when a player casts a yut or mo, he or she will cast again to determine what moves will be available to them before moving their mal. A player can continue casting for as many times as they throw either mo or yut.

The mals travel counter-clockwise around the board and can move forward only. Roll values cannot be split for different mals and only one mal may be moved or entered per roll (except when they occupy the same cell, see below), but a throw of yut or mo and/or the capture of an opposing mal may grant a player another roll on which they may move or enter another mal. It is not necessary for a player to enter all of their mals before commencing to move any that are already on the board. Mals may pass over friendly or opposing counters while moving without effect to either mal.

When a mal ends its move by landing on one of the big stations (in the four corners and the center), the player can choose to change direction on their next roll and take the shorter way should they wish to. This is always optional at any of the east, south or west stations. A mal taking such a shortcut from the east or west big station will pivot at the center point towards the exit. Thus, there are four possible courses for a mal to make around the board. A change in direction from the west and south big stations offers a nice shortcut, but typically players will not change direction towards the center from the east big station as this will make the route slightly longer. Occasionally, however, a player may choose this route if they are being followed by an opposing mal and want to avoid capture or if they want to try and capture an opposing counter along this route.

Four possible routes for a mal to follow around the Nyout board

A mal that completes its move by landing at a cell occupied by an enemy mal sends that enemy counter back off of the board which will have to start the race again from the beginning. In addition, the capturing player is granted another turn and may cast the dice to move again.

Two or more friendly mals may occupy the same cell and even move together as one piece from the cast of a single roll. However, if an opposing mal lands and completes its move at a cell occupied by this group of friendly mals, it captures all of them.

A roll to bear-off a mal need not be exact as it may be longer than required to bear the mal off. Mals bear-off to an imaginary point just outside of the North station. A mal that lands at the north station has not yet been bourne off and is still subject to capture. A player or team wins when they have successfully bourne off all of their mal.

Strategy

Stacking friendly counters to move them more quickly around the board can be rewarding but can also be very dangerous as the capture of multiple counters, particularly near the end of their run, can be devastating to a player.

Variations

Sometimes a rule is implemented prohibiting more than two friendly mal to occupy the same cell.

Occasionally, a more simple game may be played using only one mal per player. This is particularly suitable for playing with children.

Sources

1. Provenzo, Asterie Baker and Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. Play It Again, Historic Board Games You Can Make and Play. Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1981. ISBN 0-13-683367-5

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yut