For this cultural post, I wanted to focus on a traditional game called Yutnori that can be played anywhere and by all ages. During high school, one of my friends invited me to her Korean Church because there was a special gathering for a festival. I don’t really remember all that well about what it was. However, after the service, they gathered for food and socializing. My friend actually tried to teach me the rules of Yutnori as we were watching others play. I remember at the time it seemed so difficult. I never actually got to play because we left early. Now with the times as we must be quarantined, I thought it would be a good opportunity to research the popular game and try it out with my family.
In Yutnori “Yut” translates to sticks or lots and “Nori” means game. This is because it is a board dice game with four wooden sticks. Each of the yut sticks has two sides (round and flat) to make the stick roll. There are 5 possible combinations with yut sticks: do, gae, geol, yut and mo. The game has actually undergone several changes over the centuries. There originally were four ways to advance, based on the four sets of yut stick positions: do, gae, geol and yut. The fifth, mo, was added later and the sixth advancement, dwit do, is a feature of yut nori in modern times.
The sticks work in this way:
- 1 flat side up = 1 piece moves 1 space. This is called “Do” which means pig.
- 2 flat sides up = 1 piece moves 2 spaces. This is called “Gae” which means dog.
- 3 flat sides up = 1 piece moves 3 spaces. This is called “Geol” which means sheep.
- 4 flat sides up = 1 piece moves 4 spaces. This is called “Yut” which means cow.
- 4 round sides up = 1 piece moves 5 spaces. This is called “Mo” which means horse.
The board has a layout of 29 stations that can be a in a square or round configuration. When it is in the round conflation, it is symbolic of the cosmos. Each station on the boardgames has its own name and they’re actually obscure to most Koreans. The outer stations symbolize heaven and the inner square, the earth. As a whole the board can be interpreted as a reflection of university symmetry and celestial procession. This view reflects the elements of Korean shamanism.
It is one of the most popular games and is usually played in the period between Lunar New Year’s Day and Jeongwol Daeboreum. In traditional Korea, Yutnori was played at the start of the Lunar New Year and was an opportunity for family and community bonding. In the past, it was also used as active fortune-telling where it was used to predict whether the new year would bring a good fortune and harvest.
The rules for how to play are portrayed really well by this Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G90o0ai57EM
It is actually a game with a lot of energy because it fires up competition since there are many hidden variables. It can be played with 2 people or 2 teams. To determine who goes first, each player throws the 4 Yut sticks and then the player with the highest throw goes first. I read that this game is often handmade as well. The cloth where the game is played on is not a board rather it’s a piece of cloth with some markings on it. This is what makes the game so universal in Korea because families of all income levels are able to play. In the spirit of staying at home due to COVID-19, I found a DIY for making this board game that is pretty simple and easy. I think this will be a fun way to pass time!
Here is the link to the site:
https://www.littleseoulster.com/how-to-make-and-play-yut-nori/
References:
https://owlworksllc.com/featured-game/yut-nori-the-korean-game-of-sticks/
Replies
Hi Priyanka,
Thanks for sharing this! I remember watching a YouTube video about Yut Nori when I was researching Korean games. I've also seen people play this game in variety shows. Although I never fully understand how to play, it seems to be a lot of fun!
Hi Priyanka! As I was reading your cultural post about 윷놀이, I was reminded how fired up my families get when we play the game, especially during New Years. It has always been atradition to play this game, make dumplings, and bow to our elders (and receive some money too!). I’m really glad that you got the chance to play it! If you get a chance, I hope you play a game called 고스탑, which are a type of Korean cards.
Hi Pri,
Thank you for sharing this great post about Yutnori. I remember reading a similar post about this game by another student. You mention that you wanted to try it with your family. Were you able to play it with family? I am curious about how it went. If you did, I hope it went well.