Go Game Rules

How to Play Go

While the rules are simple to learn, the game’s depth, elegance, and strategic possibilities have made Go a legendary game worldwide.

Here are the Go rules and how you play the game:

Preparations

• Players: 2
• Board Sizes:
  • Standard board: 19×19 grid (used in professional play)
  • Beginner-friendly boards: 13×13 or 9×9 grids
• Components:
  • 1 grid board
  • 181 black stones and 180 white stones

Setup

• The board starts empty.
• Black plays first.
• Players alternate turns, placing one stone per turn on intersections (not inside squares).

Gameplay Overview

The goal of Go is to control more territory than your opponent by the end of the game.

Territory = Empty spaces fully surrounded by your stones.
Players also score points by capturing opponent stones.

Placing Stones

• Stones are placed on intersections, not within the squares.
• Once placed, stones do not move unless they are captured.

Liberties

• Each stone, or connected group of stones, has "liberties" — empty adjacent points (up, down, left, right).
• If a group of stones has no liberties, it is captured and removed from the board.

Capturing Stones

• To capture, you must surround an opponent’s stone or group so that it has zero liberties.
• Captured stones are immediately removed and may count toward your score.

Ko Rule

To prevent infinite loops:

• A player cannot immediately retake a position just captured by the opponent.
• You must play elsewhere for at least one turn before recapturing.

Suicide Rule

• You cannot place a stone where it would immediately have no liberties, unless doing so captures an opponent’s group, which grants new liberties.

Komi

• Since Black moves first, White receives bonus points called komi.
• Standard komi: 6.5 or 7.5 points.
• Prevents ties and balances the advantage of moving first.

Ending the Game & Winning

The game ends when:

• Both players consecutively pass their turn (mutual agreement).

Scoring:

• Count:
  • Empty territory completely surrounded by your stones.
  • Captured stones.
  • Add komi for White.
• The player with the highest total score wins.

Japanese scoring: Dead stones still on the board are removed at the end before counting.

Go Strategies and Tips

Go is known for simple rules but infinite strategic depth. Here are key concepts to improve your play:

Basic Tips

• Corners first → sides → center. Corners are easier to secure.
• Focus on territory control, not just captures.
• Stay flexible — don’t commit everything to small battles.

Key Concepts

• Eyes:
  • Empty points inside a group that keep it alive.
  • A group with two separate eyes cannot be captured.
• Sente & Gote:
  • Sente: A move forcing an opponent’s response (maintains initiative).
  • Gote: A move that allows your opponent to take initiative.
• Life & Death:
  • Mastering which groups are “alive” and which are “dead” is critical.
• Atari:
  • When a stone or group has only one liberty left — capture is imminent.

Overview of the Game Rules

Variants & Popular Rule Sets

There are some variants of the game. Here we cover a few of them:

Chinese Rules

• Count both territory and stones on the board for scoring.
• Often results in slightly higher scores.

Japanese Go Rules

• Most commonly used worldwide.
• Scoring counts empty territory + captured stones.
• Dead groups are removed during scoring.

Korean Go (Baduk)

• Nearly identical to Japanese rules.
• Widely used in Korea’s professional Go leagues.

UK Go Editions

• The British Go Association typically follows Japanese rules with small localized adjustments.

Go’s Origins — The Oldest Game in History

• Go is believed to be the oldest continuously played board game in the world.
• Originated in China over 2,500 years ago.
• The earliest boards used a 17×17 grid; the now-standard 19×19 board became common centuries later.
• Today, Go is played by over 46 million people worldwide, especially across East Asia.