Go
Go, or weiqi, began in China: black stones, white stones, rules you learn in minutes.
Your first game on a small board
Start on a small board
Use a 9 by 9 board, not the full 19. Black plays first, and stones go on the intersections.
Capture by filling liberties
A stone's liberties are the empty points beside it. Fill the last one and the whole group comes off the board.
Build two eyes
An eye is an empty point your stones fully surround. A connected group with two separate eyes can never be captured. Everything else is a fight for space.
Gold corners, silver edges, grass in the middle.
What makes a good set
Go
Hand-picked pieces are on the way.
Good to know
Is Go hard to learn?
The rules are easy and take minutes. Playing well takes years, and that is the appeal. Start on a 9 by 9 board.
Is Go Chinese or Japanese?
Go began in China, where it is called weiqi. It later spread to Korea and Japan. The English name comes from the Japanese word.
How do you win a game of Go?
You win by controlling more of the board. Players count at the end, and white gets extra points, called komi, to make up for moving second.
