Go

-2200 · Abstract Strategy

Go

Players alternately place black and white stones on the intersections of a grid to enclose territory and influence the board. Captured stones are removed when they are fully surrounded, and play ends when both players pass; final scoring counts enclosed territory minus prisoners to determine the winner. The rules are simple and focus on spatial control, surrounding, invasion and sacrifice across an empty board that develops into large-scale strategic fights.

Players
2
Playing time
30–180 min
Age
8+
Complexity
3.9 / 5
7 on Ludoyafrom $34.22Area Majority / InfluenceChainingPattern Recognition

On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya
440
Plays logged
65
Players
29m 9s
Average play
68
In collections
12
On wishlists

7.0/10

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Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

Can I play a stone where it would have no liberties (suicide)?

No — placing a stone that would leave your new stone or chain with zero liberties is not allowed, except for the special case where that play simultaneously captures opposing stones and thereby gains liberties (so your stones remain); see page 1.

What exactly is a chain and how do liberties work for it?

Stones of the same color connected orthogonally form a chain and share their liberties (diagonal connections do not count); if the whole chain has no liberties it is captured and removed; see pages 1 (sections on Liberties and Chains).

If I fill the last liberty of an opponent’s stone or chain, do I remove it immediately?

Yes — playing on the last liberty captures the single stone or entire chain, and the captured stones are taken off the board immediately; see page 1 (Capturing).

Can I immediately recapture to recreate the previous position (ko)?

No — you are not allowed to play a move that recreates a previous position (immediate recapture that would repeat the position is forbidden) to prevent infinite repetition; see page 1 (Repeating positions / ko rule).

How does the game end and what are the passing rules?

A player may pass instead of playing; whenever you pass you give an extra stone to the opponent to add to their captures, and when both players pass consecutively the game ends (white must pass last to equalize moves); see page 1 (When does the game end?).

How is the score calculated and does White get a bonus for going second?

Score is territory plus the number of stones you have captured (captured stones can also be removed from opponent territory); White receives an extra 7 points to compensate for going second; see page 1 (Object of the game).

Opens Ludoya's rules assistant, which reads this game's rulebook.

Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.