Go
Place a stone. Win the board.
A two-player strategy game on a grid of lines: place stones to surround empty points and capture your opponent’s stones, and finish with more of the board.
- Play at a real table
- Printable rules card
Join a Game Room
GoHosted rooms open soon.
Want to play now? Play at a real table, no room code needed.
- Players
- 2
- You need
- A square grid, black and white stones
- Style
- Territory strategy
- Goal
- Control more of the board
- Time
- About 30 minutes
What is Go?
Place it. Surround it.
Two players take turns placing stones on the crossing points of a square grid: one plays the dark stones, the other the light ones. Stones never move once placed, but they can be captured.
The goal is to control more of the board than your opponent. At the end each player counts the stones they have on the board plus the empty points walled in by only their stones. There are no dice and no hidden cards: every result comes from the moves the players choose.
A little history
A game of space.
Go is a game of placing stones to claim space, with a handful of rules and a great deal of depth. Players find new ideas in it all the time.
There are several rule sets for a game like this. Our default is taken from the Feral Game Kit’s definition of the game: area counting on a 13 by 13 board, with a komi of 7.5 for White. The host can pick another, and the table shows which.
Fun facts
- Stones never move once they are placed.
- A group with two separate eyes cannot be captured.
- Nothing is removed at the count, so dead stones must be captured in play before both players pass.
Why people love it
Simple rules. Endless choices.
One stone, one turn.
Place a stone on any empty point, or pass. That is the whole move.
Liberties tell the story.
The empty points beside a group are its liberties. Take away the last one and the group is captured.
Ko keeps it fair.
You may not bring back a board position that has already happened. A ko fight makes you look for a threat elsewhere.
No luck at all.
There are no dice and no hidden cards. A loss is yours to learn from.
How to play
Place. Capture. Count.
Setup
- Players: two. One plays Black, the other White.
- Board: a 13 by 13 grid by default. Stones go on the crossing points.
- First turn: Black moves first. In a handicap game Black’s extra stones are already on the board and White moves first.
- Komi: White adds 7.5 points to their score, a bonus for moving second.
Winning
When both players pass one after the other, the game ends and the board is counted. The higher total wins.
- 1
Place a stone or pass
On your turn, place one stone of your colour on any empty point, or pass.
- 2
Make groups
Stones of one colour that touch along the lines form a group. The empty points next to a group are its liberties.
- 3
Capture
When a move takes away a group’s last liberty, that group is captured and every one of its stones leaves the board. A group with one liberty left is in atari.
- 4
No suicide
You may not place a stone where it would have no liberty, unless that stone captures something and so frees up a liberty.
- 5
Mind the ko
No move may bring back a board position that has already happened. Play somewhere else first, ideally a move your opponent must answer.
- 6
Pass to end
When both players pass one after the other, the board is counted as it stands. The table may also end at a move limit, counted the same way.
These are our default rules, taken from the Feral Game Kit’s definition of the game. Other rule sets change the board size, komi, handicap, ko rule, suicide and resigning, and the host picks. Printable rules card →
Scoring
Count it by area.
Each player counts their stones on the board plus the empty points that touch only their stones. White adds komi, and the higher total wins.
| What counts | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| Each of your stones on the board | 1 point | |
| Each empty point only your stones touch | 1 point | |
| Komi for White | 7.5 points | |
| The higher total | Wins | |
| Your opponent resigns | You win, if the table allows resigning |
Stones you think are dead must be captured in play before the passes, because nothing is removed at the count. The game is also counted when it reaches the move limit.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Count liberties every move.
Count yours and your opponent’s. Capture stones in atari, and rescue your own by adding liberties.
Tip 2
Do not fill your own room.
Playing inside your own walled-off empty points only takes away your own space.
Tip 3
Make two eyes.
A group lives for good with two separate eyes, two enclosed empty points the opponent can never fill. A group with one eye can be captured once its outside liberties are filled.
Tip 4
Start in the corners.
Corners are the easiest place to wall in points, then the edges, then the centre.
Tip 5
Use threats in a ko.
Play a threat elsewhere that your opponent must answer, then retake.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Go? Tell us in Discord.
Found a bug, a rule that feels off, or a house rule your family swears by? Our Discord is where we collect play-test feedback, and where game nights are starting to happen.
Glossary
Talk like a regular.
- Group
- Stones of one colour that touch along the lines.
- Liberty
- An empty point next to a group.
- Atari
- A group with one liberty left. One more stone there captures it.
- Capture
- Taking away a group’s last liberty. Its stones leave the board.
- Ko
- The rule that no move may bring back an earlier board position.
- Eye
- An enclosed empty point. Two separate eyes make a group safe.
- Komi
- A fixed bonus for White, the player who moves second.
- Territory
- Empty points that touch only one player’s stones.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played with the default rules. In Feral mode, the host picks the board size, komi, handicap, ko rule, and whether suicide and resigning are allowed.
In play-testing
Go is in play-testing.
Go is not in a pack yet. You can play it in the Feral Table Games client while we test it.
$9.95, one time, to host every game in it. Playing is always free. Packs go on sale when the full game launches.
Go is in play-testing
Save a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens, and when Go can be hosted with friends.