Alternative names | Godori, Matgo (when only two players are playing) |
---|---|
Type | pair matching, with point scoring |
Players | 2-4, usually 3 |
Skills | Probabilistic analysis, Strategic thought, bluffing to a lesser extent |
Cards | 48 cards, though sometimes special cards may be added |
Deck | Hwatu cards |
Play | Counter-clockwise |
Playing time | ~10 to 15 minutes per round |
Chance | Medium |
Go-Stop ( Korean: 고스톱; RR: Goseutop), also called Godori ( Korean: 고도리, after the winning move in the game) is a Korean fishing card game played with a Hwatu ( Korean: 화투) deck. The game can be called Matgo ( Korean: 맞고) when only two players are playing.
The game is derived from similar Japanese fishing games such as Hana-awase and Hachihachi, though the Japanese hanafuda game Koi-koi is in turn partially derived from Go-Stop. [1]
Modern Korean-produced hwatu decks usually include bonus cards specifically intended for play with Go-Stop, unlike Japanese hanafuda decks. Typically there are two or three players, although there is a variation where four players can play. The objective of this game is to score a minimum predetermined number of points, usually three or seven, and then call a "Go" or a "Stop", where the name of the game derives. When a "Go" is called, the game continues, and the number of points or amount of money is first increased, and then doubled, tripled, quadrupled and so on. A player calling "Go" risks another player scoring the minimum and winning all the points themselves. If a "Stop" is called, the game ends and the caller collects their winnings.
The game was invented in the 1960s and became very popular in South Korea in the 1970s. [2] The game was still described as popular there in the 1990s [3] and 2010s. [4]
The game is the most popular Hwatu-type game in South Korea. [2]
The game is commonly used as a light form of gambling. Though the game can be played without money, it is considered more entertaining with the gambling aspect, with households commonly playing at ₩100 per point.
The game is played with great caution outside the family household, if ever played, as the gambling aspect brings the possibility of cheating, including hiding cards and introducing foreign cards to improve a hand.
Online Go-stop venues have been used in illegal gambling in South Korea . [5]
To select a dealer (선; seon; lit. 'first'), each player picks random cards from the deck and the person who chooses the earliest or latest month card becomes the dealer, depending on whether it is nighttime or daytime, with nighttime favoring the earliest month card, January, and the latest month card, December, favored during daytime. Before the cards are dealt, the dealer shuffles them by holding the deck in the left hand with the cards face-down and pulling out random stacks of cards with the right hand to stack them on top. The dealer must repeat this process several times. After shuffling, the dealer holds the deck out to the player to their left in for them to cut the deck. If there are only two players, the opponent cuts the deck.
The remaining cards are placed face down on top of the cut portion of the deck in the center of the table to form a draw pile. Before the play begins, the players check for sets of two, three or four cards of the same month on the table. If there is a set, they pile it up on top of each other, usually leaving space on each of the top part of the cards.
There are several ways to collect points in Go-Stop.
When a player accumulates at least three (for three players) or seven (for two players) points, the player must decide if they will continue that hand by calling "Go" (고; go) or end it by calling "Stop" (스톱; seutob). If a player says "Go" once, the player must increase their score by at least one point in order to be given another opportunity to call "Go" or “Stop". A player who calls “Go” once has one point added to their final score. With two "Go"s, two points are added. With the third "Go", the score is doubled. After the third “Go” (in which the score is doubled), the score is multiplied by the number one less than the number of times the winner has called "Go". But before calling "Go", the winner must consider whether another player may increase their score to at least three or seven points within the next turn.
When "Stop" is called, any non-winning players who have called "Go" have their penalty (calculated from the winning player's total points) doubled. This is called go bak. If a non-winning player has no Bright cards when the winner has accumulated points by collecting Bright cards, the player without Bright cards will have their penalty doubled. This is known as gwang bak. Further, if a non-winning player has fewer than six junk cards and the winner has accumulated points by collecting junk cards, the non-winning player will have their penalty doubled. This is known as pi bak. All of these are cumulative.
As an example, if a player accumulates seven or more points through only Ribbon cards and Animal cards, the player may then call "Go". If, however, before the first player is given another opportunity to call "Go" or "Stop" another player accumulates at least seven points through both Bright cards and junk cards and subsequently calls "Stop", the first player is subject to go bak, gwang bak and pi bak. Thus, the player's penalty would be doubled three times, or multiplied by eight. [7]
Some families play a variant of the game with slightly different rules, although the setup is identical. This version is playable by 2-4 players.
Rules 1-3 are the same as in "Go-Stop", but in this version there is no ppeok or ttadak. This variant is a betting game, often played with money on the line.
In this variation, the main difference is the scoring system.
A round is played until the deck has run out. If there is an extra or missing card, it means someone has cheated and the game ends in a draw. Once the game has ended, players count up their points.
Those players who have collected either all three red poetry ribbon cards or all three blue ribbon cards are given 30 points by all other players, meaning they each must deduct 30 points from their own total.
Players who have collected all four May, October, or December cards are given 20 points by each other player, who deduct 20 points from their totals.
The player who is lucky enough to collect all four November cards are given 40 points by each other player who deduct 40 points from their totals. If your score dips below 0, you start using negative points.
Once all players have their totals, they compare them to the "goal" number determined by the number of players. Their "balance" is the difference between their total score and that number. For example, in a four player game, if the goal was 60 points, and a player scored 55, their final "balance" would be -5. If all the players' balances add up to 0, the scoring has been done correctly.
Once the players are satisfied with the number of rounds played, players with negative balances must pay what they owe to the players with positive balances.
Alternative names | Godori, Matgo (when only two players are playing) |
---|---|
Type | pair matching, with point scoring |
Players | 2-4, usually 3 |
Skills | Probabilistic analysis, Strategic thought, bluffing to a lesser extent |
Cards | 48 cards, though sometimes special cards may be added |
Deck | Hwatu cards |
Play | Counter-clockwise |
Playing time | ~10 to 15 minutes per round |
Chance | Medium |
Go-Stop ( Korean: 고스톱; RR: Goseutop), also called Godori ( Korean: 고도리, after the winning move in the game) is a Korean fishing card game played with a Hwatu ( Korean: 화투) deck. The game can be called Matgo ( Korean: 맞고) when only two players are playing.
The game is derived from similar Japanese fishing games such as Hana-awase and Hachihachi, though the Japanese hanafuda game Koi-koi is in turn partially derived from Go-Stop. [1]
Modern Korean-produced hwatu decks usually include bonus cards specifically intended for play with Go-Stop, unlike Japanese hanafuda decks. Typically there are two or three players, although there is a variation where four players can play. The objective of this game is to score a minimum predetermined number of points, usually three or seven, and then call a "Go" or a "Stop", where the name of the game derives. When a "Go" is called, the game continues, and the number of points or amount of money is first increased, and then doubled, tripled, quadrupled and so on. A player calling "Go" risks another player scoring the minimum and winning all the points themselves. If a "Stop" is called, the game ends and the caller collects their winnings.
The game was invented in the 1960s and became very popular in South Korea in the 1970s. [2] The game was still described as popular there in the 1990s [3] and 2010s. [4]
The game is the most popular Hwatu-type game in South Korea. [2]
The game is commonly used as a light form of gambling. Though the game can be played without money, it is considered more entertaining with the gambling aspect, with households commonly playing at ₩100 per point.
The game is played with great caution outside the family household, if ever played, as the gambling aspect brings the possibility of cheating, including hiding cards and introducing foreign cards to improve a hand.
Online Go-stop venues have been used in illegal gambling in South Korea . [5]
To select a dealer (선; seon; lit. 'first'), each player picks random cards from the deck and the person who chooses the earliest or latest month card becomes the dealer, depending on whether it is nighttime or daytime, with nighttime favoring the earliest month card, January, and the latest month card, December, favored during daytime. Before the cards are dealt, the dealer shuffles them by holding the deck in the left hand with the cards face-down and pulling out random stacks of cards with the right hand to stack them on top. The dealer must repeat this process several times. After shuffling, the dealer holds the deck out to the player to their left in for them to cut the deck. If there are only two players, the opponent cuts the deck.
The remaining cards are placed face down on top of the cut portion of the deck in the center of the table to form a draw pile. Before the play begins, the players check for sets of two, three or four cards of the same month on the table. If there is a set, they pile it up on top of each other, usually leaving space on each of the top part of the cards.
There are several ways to collect points in Go-Stop.
When a player accumulates at least three (for three players) or seven (for two players) points, the player must decide if they will continue that hand by calling "Go" (고; go) or end it by calling "Stop" (스톱; seutob). If a player says "Go" once, the player must increase their score by at least one point in order to be given another opportunity to call "Go" or “Stop". A player who calls “Go” once has one point added to their final score. With two "Go"s, two points are added. With the third "Go", the score is doubled. After the third “Go” (in which the score is doubled), the score is multiplied by the number one less than the number of times the winner has called "Go". But before calling "Go", the winner must consider whether another player may increase their score to at least three or seven points within the next turn.
When "Stop" is called, any non-winning players who have called "Go" have their penalty (calculated from the winning player's total points) doubled. This is called go bak. If a non-winning player has no Bright cards when the winner has accumulated points by collecting Bright cards, the player without Bright cards will have their penalty doubled. This is known as gwang bak. Further, if a non-winning player has fewer than six junk cards and the winner has accumulated points by collecting junk cards, the non-winning player will have their penalty doubled. This is known as pi bak. All of these are cumulative.
As an example, if a player accumulates seven or more points through only Ribbon cards and Animal cards, the player may then call "Go". If, however, before the first player is given another opportunity to call "Go" or "Stop" another player accumulates at least seven points through both Bright cards and junk cards and subsequently calls "Stop", the first player is subject to go bak, gwang bak and pi bak. Thus, the player's penalty would be doubled three times, or multiplied by eight. [7]
Some families play a variant of the game with slightly different rules, although the setup is identical. This version is playable by 2-4 players.
Rules 1-3 are the same as in "Go-Stop", but in this version there is no ppeok or ttadak. This variant is a betting game, often played with money on the line.
In this variation, the main difference is the scoring system.
A round is played until the deck has run out. If there is an extra or missing card, it means someone has cheated and the game ends in a draw. Once the game has ended, players count up their points.
Those players who have collected either all three red poetry ribbon cards or all three blue ribbon cards are given 30 points by all other players, meaning they each must deduct 30 points from their own total.
Players who have collected all four May, October, or December cards are given 20 points by each other player, who deduct 20 points from their totals.
The player who is lucky enough to collect all four November cards are given 40 points by each other player who deduct 40 points from their totals. If your score dips below 0, you start using negative points.
Once all players have their totals, they compare them to the "goal" number determined by the number of players. Their "balance" is the difference between their total score and that number. For example, in a four player game, if the goal was 60 points, and a player scored 55, their final "balance" would be -5. If all the players' balances add up to 0, the scoring has been done correctly.
Once the players are satisfied with the number of rounds played, players with negative balances must pay what they owe to the players with positive balances.