Yut, probability and constant width
Yut-nori is very much the Royal Game of Ur (see youtube video by British Museum) or the more modern version, Ludo, where you have to get your pieces to the end before the other team, and you start from the beginning if someone lands on you. One of the main differences is Yut-nori has shortcuts that can be made if you land on the right place during your go. Another difference is the type of dice used in the game of yut-nori. In fact, yut-nori doesn’t have a dice. It has 4 sticks with a rounded side and a flat side, so they don’t have constant width and roll around. Depending on how the sticks land, that is how many moves you get. The rounded side of the sticks have crosses on them, and the smooth sides are blank. The table below shows moves you get according to how the sticks land (I have added the statistical likelihood as well):
| How they land | 1 flat side up; 3 curved/marked sides up | 2 flat sides up; 2 curved/marked sides up | 3 flat sides up; 1 curved/marked side up | 4 flat sides up; no curved /marked sides up | No flat sides up; 4 curved/marked sides up |
| How many moves | 1 move | 2 moves | 3 moves | 4 moves | 5 moves |
| Korean term | 도 (dor) | 개(Cair) | 걸(Gul) | 윷(Yut) | 모(Mor) |
| Animal | Pig | Dog | Sheep | Cow | Horse |
| The statistics | 4*1/16= 4/16 | 6*1/16=6/16 | 4*1/16= 4/16 | ½^4=1/16 | ½^4=1/16 |
It seems like the statistically likeliest moves to make would be 2 moves. This can be seen below in the table that outlines the most likely results from throwing sticks in the air:
| Flat side (F); Curved/marked side (C) | ||||
| 5 Moves | 4 Moves | 3 Moves | 2 Moves | 1 Move |
| CCCC | FFFF | CFFF | CCFF | FCCC |
| FCFF | CFCF | CFCC | ||
| FFCF | CFFC | CCFC | ||
| FFFC | FCCF | CCCF | ||
| FCFC | ||||
| FFCC | ||||
Since 2 moves are more likely statistically, it would be worth bearing that in mind next time you play your Korean grandparents during Chuseok.
Korea In Numbers 