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: the rules of Go first, then how to play your first game to see those rules applied move by move. After that, the three topics that decide most beginner games, in this order:liberties and capture,the ko rule, andlife and death. Finish the rules withhow scoring works, so you can count a finished board.
Then move to strategy: strategy for beginners for the habits, the opening for where the first moves go, and9x9 strategy if the small board is where you play. When you're stuck, 10 beginner mistakes is the fastest way to find out what you're doing wrong, andhow to get better at Go lays out what to practise next.
When you're ready to try any of this out, play a game. No account, no install, free on 9x9, 13x13, or 19x19.
Rules and how to play
Everything the game actually requires you to know, from capture to counting.
The Rules of Go, Explained Simply
Learn the actual rules of Go: liberties, capture, ko, eyes, scoring and komi, 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 the four rules you need to counting the score, with diagrams for each stage. Start on a 9x9 board.
How Scoring Works in Go
How Go scoring works after both players pass: counting territory step by step, removing dead stones, dame, and why this site uses 7.5 komi.
Liberties and Capture in Go: How Stones Are Taken
How capture works in Go: liberties, atari, capturing races, ladders, nets and snapback, with a diagram for each. The tactics every beginner needs.
The Ko Rule in Go, Explained (With Ko Threats)
What the ko rule is, why Go needs it, and how ko threats work, shown move by move on a 9x9 board. Includes superko and how this site handles it.
Life and Death in Go: Eyes, False Eyes, and Seki
Why two eyes make a group alive, how to kill a one-eyed group, what a false eye is, and how seki works. With diagrams and a reading habit to copy.
Komi in Go: What It Is and Why It's 7.5
What komi is in Go, why White gets 7.5 points for going second, where the number came from, and what it changes about the way you play.
Handicap Stones in Go: How Handicap Games Work
How a Go handicap works: who takes Black, where the handicap stones go, how many to use, what happens to komi, and how to play from either side.
How a Go Game Ends: Passing, Dead Stones, and Resigning
A Go game ends when both players pass in a row. When to pass, why you fill dame, how dead stones are agreed, what happens in a dispute, and when to resign.
Chinese vs Japanese Rules in Go: What Actually Differs
Chinese and Japanese Go rules compared: area vs territory scoring, 7.5 vs 6.5 komi, superko, dame, handicap placement, and which one to learn first.
Go Rules Cheat Sheet: The Whole Game on One Page
Every rule of Go as a short numbered list, with three diagrams and the terms you will hear. Printable, no PDF needed. The complete quick reference.
Strategy for beginners
What to do with the rules once you know them: where to play and why.
Go Strategy for Beginners: 10 Principles
Go strategy for beginners: how to win, the ten habits that decide most games, and what changes on 9x9. Plain language, board diagrams, no jargon.
The Go Opening (Fuseki): Where to Play Your First Moves
Where to play your first moves in Go: the 4-4, 3-4 and 3-3 points, corner enclosures, approaches, side extensions and the first nine moves of a game.
The 3-3 Invasion in Go: How It Works and How to Answer It
How the 3-3 invasion under a 4-4 stone works, the standard sequence move by move, which side to block on, and when not to invade at all.
Joseki for Beginners: What Joseki Are and the Three to Know
What joseki are, why memorising them backfires for beginners, three simple corner sequences worth knowing, and how to tell when one has finished.
Ladders and Nets in Go: Two Ways to Capture a Stone
How a ladder works in Go, why a single stone in its path turns it into a disaster, and how a net captures the same stone without the risk.
Good Shape in Go: The Shapes to Make and the Ones to Avoid
Good shape in Go, with diagrams: the one-point jump, tiger's mouth, bamboo joint, and why the empty triangle wastes a stone.
The Endgame in Go (Yose): How to Finish and Not Give Points Away
The Go endgame explained: how much a move is worth, sente versus gote, the hane and connect, the monkey jump, and when to stop playing.
9x9 Go Strategy: How to Play Well on the Small Board
9x9 Go strategy for beginners: the best first moves, why slow moves lose, how the 7.5 komi works out, and the 45 points Black needs to win.
10 Beginner Mistakes in Go (And What to Do Instead)
The ten mistakes that cost beginners the most games in Go, each with the habit to replace it, explained with board diagrams.
How to Get Better at Go: A Practical Plan for Beginners
A practical plan for getting better at Go: what to play, what to study, how ranks work, and roughly how long each stage takes.
Go Proverbs Explained: 15 Sayings That Make You Play Better
Fifteen real Go proverbs explained with diagrams, grouped by opening, fighting, shape, life and death, and the ones about your own attitude.
About the game
Where Go came from and how it compares to other games.
Boards and stones
The physical side: board sizes, stones, and what to buy.
Reference
Lists and comparisons to come back to rather than read straight through.