Designed by: Uncredited
Go has been around for thousands of years, but it’s more than worthy of its place in the pantheon of modern boardgames – as an abstract pattern-forming game it’s hard to beat.
The game takes place on a board which shows a grid of lines. Usually the board has 19 x 19 squares but you can play with less. The players are given a set of stones: one side will be black, and the other white. On your turn you simply place a stone on the grid: on the intersections of the lines, rather than the squares themselves. What you’re trying to do is surround your opponents stones, whether singularly or more likely in groups. If you manage to surround a stone or set of stones, you remove them from the board and keep them for yourself – these will count as points at the end of the game.
You cannot place a stone on an intersection that is already surrounded, unless doing so takes an adjacent opponent’s piece, thus clearing a space for you. Each adjacent ‘exit’ for a stone (any side that is currently open) is referred to as a liberty. When a stone has no liberties left – it’s caught. Bear in mind that it’s possible for players to end up with what the Chinese call a ko: when each player could theoretically keep taking each others’ stones using the same two spots on the board over and over. If this occurs each side must go elsewhere on the board before they can place again in the ko.
Play continues until both players pass. Points are awarded for the most territory on the board added to the number of captured stones. White (who goes second) also gets points for starting at a disadvantage.
Go is a game rich in Take That. It's also rich in strategy and history, estimated to be played by over 40 million people worldwide and with a wealth of writing over the finer points of the game.
It really depends on your opponent, but Go can be played fast.
Sometimes none, sometimes a little more: early moves may suggest themselves, but as the game progresses you'll realize why Go is such a strategic game.
Go isn't going to play the same way twice; it has almost infinite variety with the full-size board. The complexity rating here refers to the rules, but for depth of play it's more like a 4.
2-2
Players
6+
Years
60-90
Mins
Sam says
I'm by no means a regular player of Go; I tend to learn towards less chin-scratchy games that have an element of luck (or silliness). But if you like chess and haven't played Go, it should be your next port of call.