Toys & Games

Yut Nori is a Korean game that is often referred to as simply Yut (“nori” is the Korean word for “game”). It is an elegant circle & cross game (a class of racing games that take place on circular or cruciform-shaped tracks).
In every round, teams throw four wooden sticks of the shape of half-cut cylinder and the number of sticks that show belly sides, i.e., the flat sides, determines the number of steps the team’s piece can advance on the board. It is possible to pile up one team’s pieces if their sites are identical so that pieces as a group can move together afterwards (piling). If a piece of the opponent team is at the new site of one team’s piece, the piece is caught and removed from the board, and the team is given one more chance to throw sticks and proceed (catching). For a simplicity, we simulate this game on one-dimensional board with the same number of sites as the original game, and show that catching is more advantageous strategy than piling to win.