Objective
Go is an ancient strategy game played on a grid of lines. Your goal is to surround more empty points (territory) than your opponent while keeping your stones alive.
How to Play
- Black plays first. Players take turns placing one stone on any empty intersection.
- A group of connected stones is captured and removed when it has zero liberties (no adjacent empty points).
- You may not play a stone that would immediately be captured unless it captures enemy stones first (suicide rule).
- The Ko rule prevents immediately recapturing a single stone that was just captured, avoiding infinite loops.
- Instead of placing a stone you may pass your turn.
How the Game Ends
The game ends when both players pass consecutively. The score is calculated using area scoring: each player counts every intersection they occupy with a stone plus every empty intersection surrounded entirely by their stones. White receives 6.5 bonus points (komi) to offset Black's first-move advantage. The player with the higher score wins.
Tips
- Stay connected — a big group with two separate internal spaces (eyes) can never be captured.
- Capture isolated enemy stones to gain territory and prisoners.
- Control the corners first, then the sides, then the center.