ABOUT NEW YEAR'S
DAY IN KOREA
      Yut is played at the (Lunar) New Year, which is (usually) in the first days of February. Other traditional games include Taeborum (flying kites), using rectangular Korean kites, and Notwiliki (launching each other into the air using a see-saw!). Some towns have an annual tug-of-war. It's a big celebration because, traditionally, this is when everyone adds 1 year to their age.

      Kids greet their parents in the morning with a special kneeling bow (Sebe) that means good morning, thank you, and a wish for long life, all in one. Parents give a bit of advice. Sometimes it is simple, like, "Make many blessings this year."


Instructions for YUT
written by Talzhemir
This webpage sponsored by Dragon's Eye Productions,
makers of the Furcadia game.    furcadia.com

Contents:

    YUT NORI ("The Ox Game")
       Yut Pan (The Yut Board
       Mals ("Horses", the Playing Pieces)
       The Sticks
    HOW TO PLAY
       1. Who goes first?
       2. Taking a turn
       3. How to win
    Optional Rules
    About New Year's Day in Korea

Talzhemir's Korean New Year Dream with Yut Board (for Furcadia)
A Yut Board in .gif file form
A Yut Board in .PDF file form
Woodworking: How to make Yut Sticks



YUT NORI ("The Ox Game")
       Yut nori is a wonderful game from Korea. It's a race to get all four of your pieces around the board, and off. There's some luck, and also, some strategy. Yut is usually played by two.

Yut Pan (The Yut Board)
       Pieces start next to "Home" (the dot with a circle). They move counter-clockwise around the edge (just like baseball players going around the diamond). Some game boards are circular, and some may be square, but they have the same number of dots.

Mals ("Horses", the Playing Pieces)
       Each player has four playing pieces. They can be coins, buttons, poker chips, etc.

The Sticks
       The four sticks have a round side and a flat side. The round side usually has a marking or a picture of something fun to do. (They are also to tell fortunes.)

      * To make sticks when you don't have carpentry tools: Take three popsicle sticks. Tape them together at both ends, using clear tape. Mark two of the sides with markers. The third side is the "flat" side.

      To throw: Hold two of the sticks with two other sticks across on top. All four sticks must have flat sides down before tossing. The sticks can be tossed high in the air. (It's handy to have an empty cloth sack or a folded blanket for the sticks to land on.)

HOW TO PLAY
 1. Who goes first?
       The oldest participant holds a light and dark piece in each hand. Each player picks a hand. The one who picks the dark piece plays for the Warm team, and they go first. The one who picks the light piece plays for the Cold team, and they go second.

2. Taking A Turn
       A player can enter a new piece, or move one already on the board. The player throws the sticks, then counts the flat sides. This determines the exact number of spaces they can move one piece.

a) A piece starts on the space with the arrow, next to the circled dot.

b) There are five possible moves, each named for an animal:
1 flat: Do (doe, a pig) Move 1 space.
2 flats: Gae (kye, a dog) Move 2 spaces.
3 flats: Geol (kol, a sheep) Move 3 spaces.
4 flats: Yut (yuht, an ox) Move 4 spaces.
no flats: Mo (moe, a horse) Move 5 spaces.

c) If you get a Yut or a Mo, take another turn!

d) If a move ends on an opponent's piece, the opponent's piece is Pounced. The Pounced piece is taken taken off the board and it has to start all over!

e) If a move ends on your own piece, then they are Stacked, and they move together after that. If you Pounce some pieces and they are Stacked, they must all start over separately.

f) If the move ends on an intersection, it can take a Shortcut on a later turn. (If the route to Home is not shorter, it is not a legal Shortcut. The Shortcuts are marked with white arrows.)
3. How to Win
       The first player to move all four Mals past Home is the winner.

OPTIONAL RULES
 * The Wait and See Rule       If you get a Yut or Mo, you can play the regular turn and the extra turns in any order. (Example: Jerry throws Yut (4). He doesn't move his Mal. He throws again, and this time he gets Gae (2). He can move one piece 2, and then another piece 4. Or, he can move one piece 4 and another piece 2. Or, he can move one piece 2 and then 4, or 4 and then 2.

* The Secret Marked Piece Rule       One of the four Mals has a mark on the underside. If the Secret Marked Piece is Pounced, it stays on the board, and the other piece has to start over instead.

* The Back Road Rule If a piece lands on the intersection just before Home, it can move from there to the middle, and then towards Home.

* Extra Players       If you add more sets of Mals, more than 2 players or teams can play. There is likely to be a lot of Pouncing at the beginning if you do this.