By guest blogger Christine of Origami Mommy
People all over the world have long loved playing
board games. Here's how to make a traditional Korean
family board game called Yut-Nori (pronounced
"yoonnori"). It's especially popular during the New Year,
but it can be played any time. My parents, who are from
Korea, used to play this game with us when we were
growing up in the U.S.. It's a lot of fun and I wanted to
introduce my children to the game, because playing
games from other countries is a great way for kids to
learn that that children all over the world are just like
them - they enjoy playing games and having fun
together. Children will also be interested to see that
many board games share similar elements even though
they have such diverse origins - this one reminds our
kids of games like Sorry or Pass the Pigs. Like other
board games of this type, this game enhances
budding numeracy skills.
made of cloth with circles and lines drawn on it, but I
drew ours on paper), four sticks which are curved on one
side and flat on another, and markers (we like collecting
pretty stones and buttons to use as markers for
handmade games). If you're handy with a penknife, you
can carve four sticks out of wood, but I thought
decorating craft sticks would be easier, and fun for kids to
make on their own, so this is our variation on the
traditional game.
These are striped to represent the flat side
and dotted to represent the curved side (but you can
decorate however you like as long as you are consistent.
For instance you could try solid color on one side, a
pattern on the other, or drawings on one side and blank
on the other side....use your imagination).
Take a piece of paper or cardboard and decorate
as shown above. You'll have circles going around in
a square, connected by lines. The X in the middle is a
shortcut that you can take if you happen to land on the
corners. Make one of the circles in the corner your home
base or starting point.
The point of the game is to be the first person to move
around the circle and return back to home base. If you
land on a corner, you can take a shortcut, and if you
happen to land on the center spot, you can take
another shortcut.
You advance your pieces by throwing the sticks
in the air and seeing how they fall.
If they fall with one dotted side up, you
advance one space.
If two dotted sides are up, you advance two spaces.
If three dotted sides are up, you advance three spaces.
If four dotted sides are up, you advance four spaces.
If four striped sides land face up, you
advance five spaces.
If you got all dotted or all striped sides
face up, you can take another turn.
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Check out more about Christine at
Origami Mommy. For a delicious sounding
Korean treat try her recipe for
sweet Korean pancakes!