You use them to play the game known affectionately as “Go Stop”. To do so, one must first understand the matchability of each and every card. The cards are divided into 12 matching groups of 4, each representing a month. Once matched, they are separated into four different groups: Junk (pi- like the letter ‘P’), Ribbons (tti- almost like the letter ‘T’), Animals (yul- like Christmas), and Bright (kwang- like the sound of a cartoon duck being hit by a frying pan). Play by dealing the cards and then, starting with the dealer, lay down one card on the pot in play (hopefully to match), then turn over one from the stack. When you get a pair, you collect. Collected cards add up to points.
Bright!
These cards are five in total. If you have one or two, they mean nothing. Once you have three, they each count for one point, except December’s Bright, which doesn’t count. If you have a win that includes these cards and your opponent has none, the amount they owe you is doubled. If you have all five of them, you get 15 points.
Animals!!
These cards are nine in total. You need 5 to make them count for anything, and even then, it’s only one point, plus one additional point for each one after that. They also have a subgroup, consisting of the birds, or Godori, except for December, which doesn’t count. Collect all three of these cards and you’ll get five points. Get a win with the Godori and your opponent has no animals, the amount they owe you is doubled.
Ribbons!!!
These cards are ten in total. Like the animals, five is one point and each card extra adds on. Collect one of the subsets and you get three points on top of the points you collect individually for the ribbon cards. There are the Red with writing, Blue with writing and Red without writing, except December, which doesn’t count..
Junk!!!!
The most numerous of the groupings, you need ten to get a point, then you only get one more for each junk card on top of that. There are also a few double-pi cards that count as two, which includes December, making up for it not counting anywhere else. If you get a win with these and your opponent has five or less, the amount they owe you is doubled.
January
This set is meant to be images of pine. It includes 2 junk, 1 bright and 1 ribbon.
February
This set is a representation of plum blossoms. It includes 2 junk, 1 ribbon, and 1 of the Godori, which is part of the animal set.
March
This set is meant to be images of cherry blossoms. It includes 2 junk, 1 bright and 1 ribbon.
April
This set is a representation of wisteria (desperate housewives not included). It includes 2 junk, 1 ribbon, and another Godori.
May
The iris set contains 2 junk, 1 ribbon, and the most confusing of the animal cards… because it’s not an animal. It’s a bridge or something…
June
This is the peony set. It has 2 junk, 1 ribbon and butterflies standing as the representative animal.
July
The bush clover set contains 2 junk, 1 ribbon, and the most well known and delicious of the animal cards: the wild pig.
August
The big black smudge, or grass set has 2 junk, 1 bright, and the final Godori: the 3 birds.
September
This set (chrysanthemum) is not only difficult to say, but difficult to play. The 2 junk are good to grab the 1 blue ribbon and the 1 animal card. This animal looks to maybe, possibly, if you squint, be another kind of butterfly, with writing. That butterflyish thing can be played as an animal, then changed to a double junk at a later turn, but then never played back. OR you can just put it as a double junk right off the bat as most people do.
October
Maple is another 2 junk, 1 ribbon, 1 animal set.
November
This set is known as ddong (poop) but is actually paulownia, or something like that. It has 2 junk, 1 double junk, and a bright, making it one of the most sought after sets in the game.
December
Known as both rain and willow, This has the bright that doesn’t count, the bird that’s just an animal and the red ribbon that doesn’t belong with any of the ribbons. It also has the double junk that looks like it doesn’t really belong with the set at all. It’s best to think of it as willow bark.
There are a few additional rules depending on situations.
First, for three or four players: The dealer deals out 3 to the pot, then 4 to each player, then 3 to the pot, then 3 to each player. If there are three players, you begin, but if there are four, the dealer must play and one of the others drops out. The first two get the choice, in order, then if the last is forced out, they show their double junks and brights and at the end, they get paid 2 points worth for each that they show. Their hand gets shuffled back into the deck.
If there are two players, 4 to the pot, 5 to players, 4 to the pot, 5 to the players.
The winner is the dealer of the next game.
Jokers will also be included in the deck, you can add as many of these as possible. Each counts as a double junk. If it’s in your hand, you can play it on your turn and take a card from anywhere in the deck (without looking) and place it in your hand. If you turn it over from the deck into the pot as part of your turn, it goes into what you collect and you turn another over.
If a joker shows up in the original pot, it goes to the dealer’s collection and another card from the stack is turned over.
If you lay down a match, then a third matching card is turned over, you take nothing and they are trapped until the fourth turns up into play. The person who takes the trapped cards gets one junk card from each players’ collected group. If it’s the person who made the trap, they get two.
If you clear the pot, you get one junk card from each player.
In a game with 3 players, 3 points wins, and 7 points in a 2 player game. If you choose to keep playing after you win, say GO. This sounds crazy at first, but it’s how you really increase your take. 1 Go adds a point. 2 adds another. 3 adds another and then doubles the points. Every Go after that just adds another point to the score before you double it. The points at the end is your take.
Keep in mind, gambling is illegal in Korea, so try playing with candy, buttons, chips or counters. This should only be done for bragging rights and not monetary rewards. Remember that even “playing for pennies” can add up to a huge sum with the way the point system works. Have fun!
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