Yut

Yut was a low-class gambling game popular among the Bonge, commonly played during festivals.
== Game Set Up ==
The game was played between two people or two teams. Each side had four tokens called Mals. The board had four bases arranged in the shape of a square with a fifth base in the center of the board. There were four steps in between the bases on the corners and two more steps between the side paths and the center base, bringing the total number of "spaces" on the board to 29. Along with the board and tokens were the "dice" in the form of four yut sticks. These sticks were approximately 3 inches long with a flat side and a rounded side.Emerald Empire; Legend of the Five Rings Companion pp. 58-59
== Objective ==
To win the game, the player or team would have all four Mals a complete circuit around the board and return home.
== Play ==
The mals would start in any corner base the player chooses. The player would then throw the four yut sticks, and how they landed would determine movement as follows:
* The Pig - one side down, three sides up. Moves one spaces.
* The Dog - two sides up, two sides down. Moves two spaces.
* The Chicken - three sides down, one side up. Moves three spaces.
* The Cow - four sides up. Moves four spaces and gets another roll.
* The Horse - four sides down. Moves five spaces and gets another roll.
NOTE; The round side was considered the "top" of the stick, so a round side up was considered "up" and a round side down (flat side up) was considered "down".
The player could only move their token forward, but could choose their path however they wish. If the piece landed on a space occupied by an opposing piece, it would sends the opposing piece home and the player was rewarded with another roll. Two pieces from the same side could share a space.
== Origin ==
Like Shogi, Yut was originally brought back to the Empire by the Unicorn Clan following their return from their exodus.
== Materials ==
The board used for Yut is usually a piece of cloth, with the bases and steps embroidered on it. The sticks were normally crafted from locally available wood, and almost anything could serve as mals (shells, nuts, small pebbles etc).
Category:Culture
Category:Rokugani Language