화투 (Go-Stop) - The cutest and quite possibly the hardest card game you’ll ever play
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009화투, 고스톱, Go Stop, 花鬪, 花札, Hanafuda, Sakura, Higobana, Koi-Koi
Whatever you know it by, this game is not for the weak minded. Think poker with about 20x the rules.
This game is known in several different countries by different names but the basic rules of the game are the same. I liken the rules to Monopoly - there’s house rules, official rules, regional rules, etc. I usually end up playing 화투 differently each time, it seems.
Go-Stop is usually played during 설날 and 추석 but certainly makes it into a regular game night in Korea. There’s a certainty that every night of the week someone in Korea/Japan/Hawaii/Your mom’s house/etc is playing the game.
The history of the game originates in Japan where gambling with traditional four suited cards were deemed illegal. So, to circumvent this law, smaller cards depicting traditional Japanese scenery and flowers were created in the name of nationalism (read: gambling). In 1889, a little known Japanese company called Nintendo mass-produced such cards by hand on sheets of pressed tree bark. Once the Yakuza caught wind of this seemingly innocent workaround, karuta cards quickly became commonplace in local gambling parlors.
The rules are simple hard to follow. It’s one of those games that you think that after a few rounds you’ll pick up on it. But you won’t. The first couple of times you play it you’ll constantly be thinking to yourself “Are they changing the rules?” and although they might, maybe they aren’t. Also, patience is not a virtue in this game. The faster you go, the better. If it’s your turn and your eyes are still scanning your hand, get ready to be razzed.
Ever watch one of those child prodigies playing lightening fast DDR? Yeah well the game goes that fast but there’s no prodigies - just regular everyday people with sharp minds and years of experience stacked against you. Seriously, I’m used to playing chicken foot, blackjack, or uno (by the way, I’ll destroy you in uno - I don’t play around with uno). These games can be fast, especially uno, but typically one might play them in a retirement community or with family and friends while hanging out enjoying a few drinks and snacks, right? You know, go at a steady pace while having a light conversation at the same time? Wrong. It’s all business and trash talking. Go-Stop lulls newbies into a false comfort and tricks them into thinking that the cute little card game is just for fun until someone suggests “Let’s make it interesting. Why don’t we play for quarters?”.
Man I won’t even get into the scoring system.
Let’s take a look at the cards themselves:
(Full Size Photo Available Here)
To learn the game, other than scouring the rules online, I recommend picking up a pack from your local Korean grocery (mine carries a pack of cards for five bucks) and studying the photo above. The first thing I noticed about the cards is that they are made of plastic, terribly small, and look surprisingly similar. It takes a while to quickly notice the subtle differences. Also, the cards aren’t sticky like western playing cards so shuffling and dealing can be kind of taxing at first. Oh, and they don’t bend. I fumble with them every time, but then again, I’m a clumsy guy. It took me a while to get the hang of slamming the card down.
A younger generation has embraced this game too and in typical Korean fashion, technology integration is not an option. You can play a free version of this game online over at ijji. Also, If you can get your hands on this Nintendo DS rarity, I have been told that it contains Koi Koi.
For more of an overview, here’s a user-made video of the online version and here’s one showcasing the cards and coins used in Korea.
Have you ever played this game? What is something that made your game unique? Any special house rules?
Thoughts?
Posted by Matthew in How Koreans Do It |
January 13th, 2009 at 6:16 am
I have it for the DS. Also printed out the rules from yahoo games (it’s a freakin’ novel).
January 13th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Talking about difficult gambling games, is mahjong known in Korea?
January 13th, 2009 at 8:09 am
It seems that card/tile games with difficult and convoluted rules are de rigeur for many Asian countries.
In Bali (when gov’t regulations weren’t as strictly enforced as they are now with respect to gambling), there’s a card game that seems to be a mixture of hwatu/hanafuda and mahjong called ciki. Like hwatu, the cards are small (about 2.5 cm X 5 cm), and there are several suits. Furthermore, players tend to slam their discarded cards on the table (even though the cards are made out of extremely thin cardboard). However, most winning combinations are in triads rather than pairs, so the goal is similar to rummy (and mahjong). At least these are made of recognizable images (flowers, animals, and such); ciki designs are extremely abstract.
January 13th, 2009 at 10:31 am
As for hwatu, I’ve seen it played (both in “hardware” and software formats), and I’ve been intrigued by it. I even have both Korean (i.e. with joker cards) and Japanese sets (i.e. w/o jokers), so now I want to play with someone.
Now my question is: will poker enthusiasts/fanatics find this game frustrating because you can’t bluff? Or will they just write this off as “child’s play” (whatever that means)?
January 13th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I played this game about two years ago with a bunch of Korean friends. It was a little while ago so I only remember tid bits about the game, especially that it was a lot of fun. My Go-Stop playing gang was full of patient, patient (and patient x1000) girls, so I was able to constantly sneak a “What do I do next” look and she’d take pity on me for the one hundredth time and help out. Like you said Mathew, trying to differentiate between the cards is near impossible… In the end I had beginners luck and I was having too much fun slamming the cards down (often hitting the cards already on the floor so they’d fly everywhere) so they decided that was enough Go-Stop for one evening.
January 13th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
This is very sad but I played Go Stop over on NeoPets, where they have a similiar game. I’m fairly sure they’ve altered the rules and made it a little more simple, but even so, I STILL NEVER GOT IT. I would just click. And sometimes it would let me do it, and sometimes it wouldn’t. I tried to understand why it was letting me with some cards and not others, but it was all way over my head. XD Despite that, it was incredibly fun. I’d love to learn it properly.
January 14th, 2009 at 5:40 am
이해가 잘 안 되는데… So many of the cards look almost the same… OK, so maybe it’s understandable that a total newbie like myself would have trouble differentiating the cards, but even with experienced players… if the game needs to be played super-fast, how do they have time to figure out which card is which?
Like Bridge, it seems to be one of those games where it would be good just to have the rules and basic strategies “Matrix-ed” into one’s head (think “I know Kung-Fu”).
January 14th, 2009 at 6:28 am
OK, I went to the instructions site that Matthew linked in his blog, and the chaos in my mind is more under control. In fact, while reading it, it seemed very reasonable, and I could learn it… until I got to the section on scoring. I imagine that I’d be able to do the actual mechanics of the game, but I’d get my clock cleaned when it came to scoring (and the ultimate importance of whether to Stop or Go)…
January 14th, 2009 at 8:24 am
scoring is a total mess. give up Daniel because us lowly noobs will never fully grasp the art of scoring in Go-Stop.
I agree Xenatia, slamming the cards is half the fun - although I have to say that I’m jealous that you got to play with patient players. Last time I played I got voted out of the circle ㅠ.ㅠ
January 14th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
You can buy the iPhone/Touch version of this game in the iTunes store for $1,99. (I don’t know whether the rules are explained in the app itself)
January 15th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
i want to learn this sooooo bad! i need to talk someone into teaching me.. shouldn’t be too hard, right? hahaha..
i’ve played the 4 stick game before, and that was fun. i like korean games.
January 16th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I’d really like to play this online to practice in the comfort and safety of my own solitude…but alas, yet again I am a discriminated-against mac user left out in the cold… CURSE YOU ACTIVEX/IE!!!!
January 16th, 2009 at 8:02 am
*edit*
(sheepishly sees @barts post describing the iPhone app)…. 아싸!
January 17th, 2009 at 12:54 am
Do you like gamble??
Hi. My name is Lee Hyunmin and I am a student of Seoul National University. First of all I appreciate your consideration for Korea. I would like to introduce Korean culture more, so would like to I send you an e-mail about that. My e-mail address is
ioyuu@hanmail.net
I will wait your e-mail. Thank you very much.
July 31st, 2009 at 11:01 am
where can u play go stop
September 6th, 2009 at 6:12 am
I was wondering where I can buy the actual cards online, I really want to learn the game and I hope to play with actual cards… Can someone please tell me?
Thanks!!!
September 6th, 2009 at 11:33 am
@ sena - check out the third to last paragraph
@ seoyeong - I would guess that ebay has the cards for sale although they are pretty cheap in person. If you live near a Korean grocery (even the small mom and pop stores) they will likely have them. If not, try a chinese or even japanese grocery as I have heard of someone buying a deck there for less than five bucks. I bought a deck in my hometown in Texas for three dollars and spent 2500원 on a deck here in Korea so expect them to be on the cheap side.
September 12th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
@ Matthew - thanks for the information, I saw the site but the cards are on bid…
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:57 am
Written at the begining of the year yet still very relevant, you should add your twitter link, ill follow for sure
February 14th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
i want play 화투