Shrink the noise: two colors, one grid, empty points called intersections. You take turns placing one stone. Connected stones share liberties — empty adjacent points. Surround every liberty of a group and those stones leave the board.
When to use this board
Absolute beginner. Showing a kid. You forgot whether diagonal points count as liberties (they don’t — only orthogonal).
When not to
You already play and want a harder AI → vs computer. You only want the compact rule sheet → go-rules. Western chess tutorial → wrong site.
How
- 01Place one stone per turn on an empty intersection. Black traditionally moves first — follow the board.
- 02Stones of the same color that touch along the lines form a group and share liberties.
- 03If a group has zero liberties after your move, those stones are captured and removed.
- 04You generally may not play a suicide move that leaves your own group with no liberties (unless the play captures first).
- 05Ko: you can’t immediately recapture in the one-stone flip-flop; play elsewhere first.
- 06Try a slow game on vs computer · Easy or play 9×9.
Gotchas
- “How to play go” results sometimes mean Go Fish card game — this page is the board game with a grid.
- A diagonal does not connect. Only side-by-side stones share liberties.
- Ending a game (two passes, counting) feels weird the first time; this board settles on captures after two passes.
- 19×19 teaching videos are fine later; start smaller so you finish a game today.
FAQ
- Who goes first?
- Follow the board; traditionally black.
- How do you win?
- More living territory (and captures, depending on the counting style). On this board, after two passes, captures decide who led.
- What is a liberty?
- An empty adjacent intersection along the lines. No liberties → the group is captured.
- Ready to play for real?
- Home or vs computer.