30+ Fun & Popular Games Played in Korea

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How to play the real games that inspired Squid Game

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Last Updated: December 31, 2025 References

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Traditional

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Popular

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Squid Games

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Drinking Games

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Video

Because of the popularity of Netflix’s Squid Game, many people have become fascinated with Korean games. If you’re looking for a fun cultural game to play with your friends, we’ve got you covered! We’ve compiled a list of some of the best traditional and popular Korean games, including drinking games and games that inspired Squid Game. Keep reading to find fun activities for kids and adults.

Common Games Played in Korea

Yutnori: A game that involves throwing sticks to determine where you move your game pieces.
Yeonnalligi: Kite-flying typically done during winter and the Lunar New Year.
Jegichagi: A game similar to hacky sack, in which players attempt to keep a jegi from touching the ground.
Dakssaum: A game in which players balance on one leg and attempt to knock each other over.

Section 1 of 4:

Traditional Korean Games

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Yutnori Yutnori is a popular game typically played on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Each player takes turns throwing yut sticks, which are round on one side and flat on the other. They throw the sticks over a board game, and the combination and landing of the sticks determine how the player or team gets to move their pieces on the board. There are 5 different combinations a player can get: do, gae, geol, yut, and mo. If a player gets “yut,” they get to throw again.^{[1]
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- If a piece lands on a space occupied by the opponent, the piece will be returned to the start.
- If a piece lands on a space that belongs to your team, the pieces will be combined into one piece.
- The first team to move all of their 4 pieces around the board wins.
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Ssireum Ssireum is a Korean folk style of wrestling, similar to Japanese sumo wrestling. Two people wrestle each other in a sandy ring, and a player scores points when they throw their opponent onto the ground. In modern ssireum, both wrestlers wear a belt around their waist and leg, which their opponent often uses to throw them on the ground.^{[2]
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Yeonnalligi Yeonnalligi, or kite-flying, is a popular activity often done in winter. Traditionally, it was especially popular between the Lunar New Year and Daeboreum, the first full moon of the new lunar year. Kites are flown on windy days so people can admire their bright colors.^{[3]
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Neolttwigi Neolttwigi is similar to a seesaw. Instead of sitting, each player stands on one end. They then take turns jumping on the board so the other player gets tossed into the air. This game is popular on holidays like the Lunar New Year and Chuseok, and is especially popular among girls.^{[4]
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- Neolttwigi is sometimes performed during special performances involving acrobatic tricks.
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Jegichagi Jegichagi is similar to hacky sack. Players kick a “jegi” (an item made from paper wrapped around a small coin, similar to a shuttlecock) in the air, trying to keep it from touching the ground. The player with the most kicks wins, though the game can also be played solo. It’s popular around the Lunar New Year.^{[5]
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Tuho Originally popular among royal families and the upper class, tuho is similar to horseshoes. Players attempt to throw arrows into the top of a narrow-necked wooden jar. The score is determined by the number of arrows in the jar, and the player with the most arrows wins.^{[6]
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Gonu Gonu is also known as “goni,” “ggoni,” “ggon,” and “gonni,” and its rules vary by region. In general, though, the game is played with a small pebble or piece of wood and a game board drawn on the ground or a piece of paper. Players move their pebbles one block forward each round, and their opponent tries to block their pebble from reaching the other end of the board.^{[7]
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Gonggi Before starting the game, players choose the number of points needed to win. Then, players toss stones from their palms into the air. While airborne, the player flips their hand to catch the stones on the back of their hand. The person who catches the most stones goes first, and players must complete 5 levels:^{[8]
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- Level 1: 5 stones are scattered on a flat surface, and a player throws one stone in the air. While that stone is airborne, they grab another stone and catch the falling stone. This is repeated until all the stones have been caught.
- Level 2: The stones are scattered like in Level 1, but now the player picks up two stones at once.
- Level 3: The player must pick up the stones in a group of 3, then the remaining one.
- Level 4: The player throws one stone in the air, places the others on the surface, then catches the airborne stone. They toss the same stone again, but this time, they pick up the 4 clustered stones, then catch the airborne stone.
- Level 5: The player tosses the stones from their palm into the air. While the stones are airborne, the player turns their hand over and attempts to catch the stones on the back of the hand. They throw the stones again and catch them. The score is based on the number of stones caught.
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Rolling Hoop In this traditional game, players roll a large hoop (like an iron hoop or an old wagon wheel) along the ground with an iron stick. The goal is to keep the hoop upright for as long as possible. Players can also perform tricks for points.
- This game was featured in the opening ceremony of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.
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Seokjeon Seokjeon is an ancient Korean game that originated from martial arts training. The term translates to “stone battle,” which is exactly what the game is. It’s similar to a snowball fight, but teams literally throw stones at each other. Because the game is dangerous, it has largely died out in modern-day Korea.^{[9]
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Bossaum Bossaum translates to “dam wrecking” in English and is played in a stream. In this game, players are divided into two teams and decide if they want to set up their dams upstream or downstream. They then build their dams with anything around them, like stones, dirt, grass, and sticks. After completing the dams, the upstream dam will deconstruct their dam so the water flows out in an attempt to damage the downstream team’s dam. The downstream team will attempt to reinforce their dam. If it collapses, they lose.^{[10]
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Garakji Chatginori A group of about 10 people will sit in a circle and choose one person to be the “finder.” The finder sits in the middle of the circle and closes their eyes. The rest of the group sings a song while passing garakji (a pair of big rings) around the finder. The group hides the garakji, and when the song ends, the finder will point to the person they think has the garakji. If they’re wrong, they must stay in the middle. If the person hiding the garakji is caught, they become the finder.^{[11]
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Nat Chigi Nori To start the game, players cut down a certain amount of grass, gather it into a heap, and fix a stick in the middle of it. Players then take turns throwing a sickle towards the stick. If a player gets the sickle to hang on the stick, they receive the whole portion of grass. Otherwise, players are ranked depending on the proximity of their sickle to the stick.^{[12]
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Section 2 of 4:

Popular Korean Games

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Cham Cham Cham This two-player game is often played on variety shows. Each player faces the other, then points to the left or the right. If the other player turns their head in the same direction, the player who pointed wins. If they turn their head in the opposite direction, they win.^{[13]
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Chin Chin/Zero In this game, players form fists, keeping their thumbs down. One player will then call out a number, and everyone simultaneously reveals a random number of fingers. If the total number of thumbs matches the number called, the caller puts a hand behind their back. The first to lose both hands loses the game.^{[14]
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Dakssaum/Cockfighting In this physical game, each player stands on one leg and grabs their other ankle with their hands. While hopping on one leg, they both attempt to knock the other person over. The last person standing wins.^{[15]
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Gawi Bawi Bo/Rock Paper Scissors The Korean version of Rock, Paper, Scissors works the same way as the American version. Two players face off, shake their fists 4 times, and on the 4th shake, reveal the symbol for rock, paper, or scissors. Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, and paper beats rock.^{[16]
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- Mukjippa is another version of Rock, Paper, Scissors. After 3 rounds, the winner of the third round gets to be an attacker. Their goal is to throw the same sign as their opponent. If that happens, the attacker wins the game.
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Paengi Nori/Spinning Top Game This game appears in the anime Beyblade, which was popular in Korea. Each player pulls the winger on a spinning top. The goal is to have your top spin longer than your opponent’s or to knock your opponent’s over.^{[17]
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Mandu To begin this game, players chant “Mandu, mandu, mandu, mandu” while opening and closing both hands. At the end of the chat, each player takes turns saying a number from 1 to 10. If the player says an even number, your hands should stay open. If they say an odd number, your hands should be closed. When a player messes up, they receive a slap on one hand by every other player.
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Subtract, Not Multiply In this math game, one player is the “caller,” and everyone else is a “player.” To start, everyone chants “Subtract, not multiply” two times. The caller then says any 2 numbers from 0 to 10. The first player to answer must subtract the numbers and give the correct answer in under 3 seconds. If they fail, the team loses. If they succeed, the caller gives another set of random numbers to the next player. The game ends when everyone has answered correctly or when someone fails.
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Omok Omok is similar to the Connect 4 board game.^{[18]
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Section 3 of 4:

Korean Games Played in Squid Game

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Juldarigi This tug-of-war game isn’t actually played for life or death, but it is assumed to predict the year’s upcoming harvest! It’s traditionally played by two teams, who each try to pull their opposing team to their side by tugging on two ropes attached to a larger rope made of twisted rice straw.^{[19]
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Mugunghwa Flower Has Bloomed This game is similar to Red Light, Green Light. One player is “it” and stands at the end of the playing area with their back turned to the other players. Instead of saying “green light” to signal other players to move, the “it” player sings “mugunghwa flower has bloomed.” When they stop singing, the other players must stop moving. If the “it” player turns around and catches them, they must return to the starting line.^{[20]
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- Think you’d survive Squid Game? Try our Squid Game Simulator to find out!
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Dalgona Challenge In this game, each player receives a piece of dalgona candy, which resembles a honeycomb with a symbol carved into it. Players must then attempt to carve out the symbol without breaking it.^{[21]
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- This game was originally created by street vendors who sold the candy in the '50s and '60s. Any kid who could carve out the symbol would receive a free treat.
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Ddakji In the Korean language, this game is also known as Korean Pogs. Each player has folded paper tiles, and their goal is to slam their tile onto their opponent’s so that it turns over. If they are successful, they get to keep the tile they turned over.^{[22]
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Section 4 of 4:

Korean Drinking Games

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Soju Cap Game This classic drinking game is played when drinking bottles of soju. After the bottle has been opened, someone twists the strip at the end of the cap until it’s close to coming off. Then, each player takes turns flicking the strip. Depending on the rules, whoever flicks the strip off is either the loser and has to drink a shot, or they’re the winner and the players on either side of them must take a shot.^{[23]
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High/Low This is another game played with soju bottles. The inside of the bottle cap contains a number between 1 and 100. One player will look at the number, and the other players try to guess what it was. With each guess, the person who knows the number will say “higher” or “lower” until someone guesses correctly. Depending on how you’re playing, that person will either take a drink or everyone else will.^{[24]
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Nunchigeim/Instinct Game In this game, one player will start by saying “1,” then another player will say “2,” and so on. The players do not go in a certain order, and the goal is to say the next number without someone else saying it simultaneously. If two people say the same number, they lose and have to drink. The game will then start over.^{[25]
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Baskin-Robbins 31 Game This game is named after the popular ice cream chain, but it doesn’t actually have anything to do with ice cream. Players sit in a circle, and they each take turns saying a number in order (1, 2, 3, and so on). Each player can call out up to 3 numbers at once, and the person who has to say “31” loses and has to drink.^{[26]
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- For example, let’s say the previous player ended with the number “28.” To avoid losing, the next player would say “29-30.” The player after that would be forced to say “31” and would lose the game.
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Samyukgu/3-6-9 This game is similar to the Baskin-Robbins game. Players take turns saying a number, going in order from 1. Whenever a number has a 3, 6, or 9 in it, the player is supposed to clap instead of saying the number. If they accidentally call out the number, they lose and have to drink.^{[27]
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- If a number contains 2 of the above numbers (such as 33), the player will clap twice. If you manage to make it to triple digits, you’d clap 3 times if there are 3 of the above numbers.
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APT Drinking Game To play the APT drinking game, gather everyone in a circle and chant “apateu, apateu” while moving your hands to the beat. Choose a player to call out a random number, then have everyone stack their hands on top of each other. Count up to that number while moving the bottom player’s hand to the top of the stack for each number called. When you reach the number, the person with their hand on top has to drink.^{[28]
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