Learn to Play Go
Prefer to learn by doing?
The interactive tutorial teaches the same rules on a real board, one small lesson at a time, with instant feedback on every move. It ends with a full game against the computer. About 10 minutes.
Go has a short rule set and a lot of depth underneath it. These guides take you from knowing nothing about the game to playing a full one with a sense of what you're doing. Start with the rules if you're brand new, or jump straight to whichever topic you're stuck on.
Every guide has board diagrams for the ideas that are easier to see than to read about, and every term you run into is in the glossary, linked back to whichever guide covers it properly. Nothing here assumes you already know Go: each page defines terms the first time they come up, so you can start anywhere and follow the links backward if something doesn't make sense yet.
If you want a suggested order: read the rules first, then how to play your first game to see the rules applied move by move. How scoring works explains what happens once that game ends, and strategy for beginners is worth coming back to after you've played a few games, once the situations it describes are ones you've actually seen. Board sizes andGo vs. chess are shorter reads for when you're deciding where to start or curious how the two games actually differ.
When you're ready to try any of this out, play a game. No account, no install, free on 9x9, 13x13, or 19x19.
The Rules of Go, Explained Simply
Learn the actual rules of Go: liberties, capture, ko, eyes, and territory, with board diagrams for each. No jargon, no prior knowledge needed.
How to Play Go: Your First Game Step by Step
A practical walkthrough of your first Go game, from opening moves to counting the score, with diagrams for each stage. Start on a 9x9 board.
How Scoring Works in Go
How Go is scored after both players pass: counting territory, removing dead stones, and why this site uses area (Chinese) scoring with 7.5 komi.
Go Strategy for Beginners: 10 Principles
Ten practical Go strategy habits for beginners, explained in plain language with diagrams: corners first, urgent moves, sacrifice, sente, and more.
9x9 vs 13x13 vs 19x19: Which Go Board Size?
The differences between 9x9, 13x13, and 19x19 Go boards, and which one to start on. Same rules, different game length and complexity.
Go vs Chess: What's Actually Different
How Go and chess actually differ: pieces, capture, complexity, handicaps, and what chess players should unlearn when they pick up Go.