How to play Go
Two players, black and white stones, one grid. The rules fit on a postcard; the game takes a lifetime to explore.
Set up the board
The full board is a 19×19 grid, but beginners usually start on a smaller 9×9 or 13×13. Stones go on the line crossings, not inside the squares. Black plays first, then players alternate. A stone never moves once it is placed; it can only be captured.
Count liberties
The empty points directly next to a stone (up, down, left, right, never diagonal) are its liberties. Stones of one colour that touch in a line form a group and share their liberties.
Capture
When the last liberty of a stone or group is filled by the opponent, it is captured and taken off the board. A group down to one liberty is in atari, a friendly warning. In most rule sets you may not play a move that leaves your own stones with no liberties, unless it captures.
Stay alive, avoid repeating
The ko rule stops you from recreating the exact position of your previous turn: play elsewhere first, then come back. A group that surrounds two separate empty points, called eyes, can never be captured. It lives.
Count the territory
The game ends when both players pass in a row. Each side counts the empty points it surrounds. White receives bonus points called komi, commonly 6.5 or 7.5, to make up for Black moving first. Most points wins.
Words you will hear at the board
- Atari
- A stone or group with only one liberty left.
- Ko
- A repeating fight over one stone, controlled by the rule against repeating the position.
- Hoshi
- The star points, the nine dots on a 19×19 board that help you find your place.
- Komi
- Bonus points for White that balance Black’s first move.
- Kyu and dan
- Player ranks. Beginners are kyu, counting down toward 1 kyu; then dan ranks count upward.
- Handicap
- The weaker player takes Black and places extra stones first, so a game between different levels stays fair.
Start small, then come play
Short 9×9 games are a quick way to learn the rules. When you want a real opponent, join a meeting.
Join a meeting