Yutnori (윷놀이)

Koreans play a lot of folk games on New Year's Day, and the most popular and unique folk game is Yutnori. Yutnori is one of the most popular traditional games in Korea. Yutnori has a long history and according to some studies, it has appeared since the Three Kingdoms period (57 BC). The game does not discriminate, so anyone can participate in this game. Moreover, this set of games is very neat, so you can take it with you when you go on a picnic, travel far to play with friends and relatives.

The yut stick consists of 4 wooden sticks in the shape of a crescent moon, one side has an inscription called a yut. The path of these yuts symbolizes the movement of the planet sun. More meaningful is wishing for a prosperous new year.

How to play Yutnori:

• Play equipment consists of 1 playing board, which can be made of fabric or wood, square or round shape and 4 yut sticks. Yutnori requires 2 players or 2 teams, played by moving pieces on the board. Each side takes turns tossing a yut (which acts as a dice) to decide which move on the board. The steps on the board are represented by 5 animals, called as follows: 도 (pig), 개 (dog), 걸 (sheep), 윷 (cow), 모 (horse).
• If there is a face-up tree called 'do' (도), you can go 1 step further. 2 heads up called 'gae' (개) can go 2 steps. 3 heads up called 'geol' (걸) can go 3 steps. 4 heads up called 'yut' (윷) can go 4 steps. If there are no trees up, it is called 'mo'(모) and is allowed to walk 5 steps. Especially, if you can toss Yut or Mo, you will be thrown one more time.
  And if you catch the opponent's horse or cow, you will be able to throw yut 2 times. All 4 of the team's cards to the finish line first will win.
• If the piece lands on a space occupied by the opponent, the piece will have to be returned to the beginning. But if a piece lands on a space that belongs to its own team, the pieces will combine, making them unite as one piece. The first team to move all four of its pieces around the board wins.