How many points do you need to win in Go-Stop?

In 3-player Go-Stop you usually need 3 points; in 2-player Matgo you need 7. House rules vary, so agree before you start.

What is pi-bak in Go-Stop?

If the winner scored with junk (pi) cards and a loser collected very few junk cards (usually 5 or fewer with 3 players, 7 or fewer in Matgo), that loser pays double.

What are gwang-bak and meong-bak?

Gwang-bak: the winner scored with brights (gwang) and a loser has no brights, so that loser pays double. Meong-bak: the winner collected 7 or more animal cards, so losers pay double.

If a player calls Go and someone else then wins, the player who called Go pays the whole amount alone, including the other losers' shares.

How do you settle up money after a Go-Stop game?

Add up what each pair of players paid each other round by round and net it out to see who owes whom. To send fewer transfers, you can instead match only each player's final total. The Go-Stop Score Calculator app does both automatically.

How to Score Go-Stop (Korean Hwatu): Points, Go, Pi-bak, Nagari & Settling Up

Q: How does calling Go change the score?

1 Go adds 1 point and 2 Go adds 2 points. From 3 Go, the whole score doubles with every Go: 3 Go is ×2, 4 Go is ×4, 5 Go is ×8.

Q: What happens on a nagari?

A nagari is a round nobody wins. The next round is usually worth double, and consecutive nagari keep stacking: ×4, ×8 and so on.

Go-Stop rules differ by region and by group. These are the most common ones; in the Go-Stop Score Calculator app you can switch each rule on or off.

1. Scoring combinations

You score from the cards you capture. Brights, ribbons, animals and junk score by count; ribbon sets and godori score as combinations.

Cards	Points
Brights (gwang)	3 brights 3 (2 if one is the rain bright), 4 brights 4, 5 brights 15
Ribbons (tti)	5 ribbons 1, +1 for each extra
Red, blue, grass ribbon sets (hongdan, cheongdan, chodan)	3 each
Animals (yeol / meong)	5 animals 1, +1 for each extra
Godori (the 3 birds)	5
Junk (pi)	10 junk 1, +1 for each extra (double junk counts as 2)

2. How many points do you need to win?

3 points in 3-player Go-Stop, 7 points in 2-player Matgo.

Once you have enough, call “Go” to keep playing for more or “Stop” to end the round and collect.

3. How does calling Go change the score?

1 Go adds 1 point, 2 Go adds 2 points, and from 3 Go the whole score doubles with each Go.

Go	Score
1 Go	points + 1
2 Go	points + 2
3 Go	(points + 2) × 2
4 Go	(points + 2) × 4
5 Go	(points + 2) × 8

4. Shake and bomb

Every shake or bomb doubles the score.

A shake means showing that you hold 3 cards of the same month; a bomb means playing all 3 at once to capture the matching table card. Two of them make ×4.

5. What are pi-bak, gwang-bak and meong-bak?

Only the losers who meet the condition pay double their share. Several penalties multiply together.

Pi-bak

The winner scored with junk cards and a loser collected very few junk (usually 5 or fewer with 3 players, 7 or fewer in Matgo): that loser pays ×2.

Gwang-bak

The winner scored with brights and a loser has no brights at all: ×2.

Meong-bak

The winner collected 7 or more animal cards: ×2. Many groups don't use this rule.

6. What is go-bak?

If you call Go and someone else wins, you pay everything alone — including the other losers' shares.

For example, Alex calls Go but Mia wins. The money Alex and Sam would have split all comes from Alex.

7. What happens on a nagari?

A round nobody wins is a nagari, and the next round is worth double.

Two in a row make ×4, three make ×8, and so on.

8. Worked example

Setup: 1 per point. Alex stops at 7 points after 2 Go, with 1 shake. Mia has pi-bak.

① Base: 7 points + 2 (for 2 Go) = 9 points
② Shake ×2 → 18 points
③ Each loser's share: 18 × 1 = 18
④ Mia's pi-bak ×2 → 36

Result: Mia −36, Sam −18, Alex +54

9. How do you settle up after the game?

Net out what each pair of players paid each other across all rounds to see who owes whom.

Pairwise settlement

For every pair, subtract what Alex paid Mia from what Mia paid Alex over all rounds. This mirrors how the money actually moved at the table.

Fewest transfers

Only each player's final total (+/−) matters, so losers can pay winners directly and you send fewer transfers. Everyone's net result is the same either way.

Let the Go-Stop Score Calculator do the math

Free · no sign-up · works offline · app screens in English and Korean