If Go has ever felt harder to approach than it probably should, this is the page that strips the noise away. Two colors, one grid, empty points called intersections. Players place one stone at a time. Stones that connect along the lines share liberties, and when a whole group runs out of liberties, it comes off the board. Once those few ideas click, the game stops feeling mystical and starts feeling playable.
When to use this board
Use this page when you are brand new, when you are teaching someone younger, or when you just need the rules stated plainly enough that the board finally makes sense.
When not to
You already play and want a harder AI -> vs computer. You only want the compact rule sheet -> go-rules. You meant a western chess tutorial -> wrong site.
How
- 01Place one stone each turn on an empty intersection. Black traditionally goes first, so follow the board and start there.
- 02Stones of the same color that touch along the lines become one group. Groups share liberties, so one move can save or doom several stones at once.
- 03If your move leaves an opposing group with zero liberties, those stones are captured and removed immediately.
- 04You generally cannot play a move that leaves your own group with no liberties, unless that move captures first and creates space.
- 05Ko prevents the simplest endless loop. If one stone is just taken in a repeating shape, you cannot take it straight back on the next move.
- 06Then stop reading and try a small game on vs computer Easy or on the 9×9 page. One short game teaches more than ten extra paragraphs.
Gotchas
- Search results for “how to play go” sometimes wander into the wrong game entirely. This page is about the board game with stones on a grid.
- A diagonal does not connect. Stones only share liberties through side-by-side contact along the lines.
- Ending a game can feel odd at first. On this site, two passes settle the result by captures.
- A huge 19×19 lesson can wait. Small boards are kinder when you are still learning what one liberty feels like.
FAQ
- If I am completely new, what is the first thing I should actually understand?
- Start with liberties and capture. If those two ideas make sense, the rest of beginner Go becomes much easier to learn in the right order.
- What is a liberty in the plainest possible language?
- Think of it as breathing space. An empty adjacent intersection along the lines is a liberty. When a group has none left, that group is captured.
- Who goes first, and how do you tell who is winning?
- Traditionally black goes first. In ordinary Go the broad aim is more living territory, though counting styles differ. On this site, after two passes, captures decide who led.
- Once I understand this page, should I keep reading or just start a game?
- Start a game. Open the home board or vs computer on an easier setting and let the ideas turn into something you have actually touched.