Yut Nori

Yut Nori (윷놀이)

Yut Nori (also known simply as Yut), is a traditional board game in Korea that is often played during Korean New Year. Although the exact origins are unclear, evidence suggests that Yut was played as early as the Three Kingdoms (57 BCE - 668 CE). The folk explanation for the game is that the game describes a bet by some villagers to raise five different kinds of livestock: pigs, dogs, sheep, cows and horses. Yut has also been considered as a harbinger for determining if the harvest would be good or poor. This game is good for beginners, as unlike the other games, it doesn’t require any skill or practice. It is also popular because the competitive nature of the game leads to a very loud and raucous gathering of people as they yell and cheer for their team.

Move 1 Place

Move 2 Places

Move 3 Places

Move 4 Places

Move 5 Places & Throw Again

Equipment

The boards, called 말판 (mal-pan), are normally made of a stitched cloth, while the modern board is usually a rectangular shape. There are four straight pathways and two diagonal ones. Each of the straight courses comes with five stations. The diagonal ones have five stations, too, but one is shared. This brings the number of stations to twenty-nine in total. Instead of dice, yut-sticks are used. Yut sticks are pieces of wood sticks shaped like a half-moon, with both a round and flat side. There are also small tokens (marks) used for the game, called mal (말, literally a "horse"). Each player gets a small token and the players form two teams. There are no common rules on what a token can be made of. The only rule is that the mals of the opponent teams must be clearly distinguishable. If you don’t have a traditional Yut Nori game at home it is easy to replicate:

Using a paper and writing utensil, draw the board game as shown below.
Use either four dice or coins, and decide which side(s) are up or down.
Use coins, buttons, small pebbles, or even chess pieces for the tokens

Game Play

The start of the game is determined by each team tossing the yut-sticks. The team with the highest score starts first. The goal is to return all of your tokens back to the start. If you are lucky enough to stop on one of the corner squares, you can take a shortcut (meaning you can take the diagonal path/ shortest path). The game is played by tossing the yut-sticks and determining which are face up or down. A score of Do (도) or 1, is when one of the sticks is facing up, meaning you move one space. A score of Gae (개) or 2, is when two of the sticks are facing up, and moving two spaces. Geol (걸) is three spaces, Yut (윷) is four spaces, and if all are facing down it is called Mo (모) and the player gets to move 5 spaces. If a player scores Yut or Mo, they get to immediately take another turn. If a player lands on an opponent, the player “catches” them and sends them back to the start. If a player lands on a team member, they form a group and now travel together. The game is won by the team who brings all their tokens home first.

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