How to play Go-Stop
Go-Stop is a fast Korean card game played with a 48-card hwatu deck. You match cards by month, collect sets to score points, then gamble on one big question: stop and collect, or say Go and try for more.
The goal
Be the first to reach the target score by capturing valuable combinations of cards. Two-player games are traditionally played to 7 points. Our career tables start at 3 so beginners get to the fun part quickly, and you can change the target in Settings.
The deck
A hwatu deck has 12 months with 4 cards each. Every month has its own flower, and the art shows you which month a card belongs to. Cards also have a type: bright Kwang, Animals, Ribbons, and plain Pi.
The deal
With two players, each person gets 10 cards, 8 cards go face up on the table, and the remaining 20 form a face-down stock pile.
Taking a turn
- Play a card from your hand. If a field card shares its month, your card lands on it. If nothing matches, your card stays on the table.
- Flip the top card of the stock. It matches the same way.
- Capture your pairs. Any matched cards go to your side, where they count toward your score.
If two field cards match, you choose which one to take. If a month stacks up to three cards without being captured, it stays on the table as a ppuk until someone takes it with the fourth card.
Go or Stop?
When your score reaches the target, you decide:
- Stop ends the hand and you collect your winnings.
- Go keeps the hand alive for a bigger payout. You must beat your current score before you can stop again, and your opponent can still catch you.
The first two Go calls add to your payout, and from the third on the payout doubles each time.
Special moves
| Move | What happens |
|---|---|
| Chok | Your played card stays on the table, then the stock flip matches it. Take 1 pi from your opponent. |
| Ttadak | Capture all four cards of a month in one turn. Take 1 pi. |
| Sseul | Clear the last cards from the table. Take 1 pi. |
| Ppuk capture | Take a three-card stack with the fourth card. Take 1 pi, or 2 if it was your own stack. |
| Bomb | Play three cards of one month to capture the fourth, and earn two turns that skip your hand. |
| Heundeum | Show three cards of one month from your hand. Your payout doubles if you win. |
Next step
See exactly what each set is worth on the Go-Stop scoring page, or learn about the cards on what is hwatu?
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