Learn Go by Playing

Reading about Go only gets you so far — the rules make a lot more sense once you're actually placing stones. This tutorial walks through them one small idea at a time on a real board, with instant feedback on every move, and ends with a full game against the computer. It takes about 10 minutes. Prefer reading first? The rules of Go, explained simplycovers the same ground in plain text.

Lesson 1 of 6: The board — step 1 of 4

Go is played on the points where the lines cross, not in the squares between them. Place a black stone on the marked point in the middle of the board.

Need a hint?

Tap the highlighted crossing point.

What you'll learn

  1. The board — stones go on the crossing points, turns alternate, stones never move.
  2. Liberties — the open space every stone needs to survive.
  3. Capture — how a stone or a group comes off the board.
  4. Stay alive — suicide, the one exception to it, and the ko rule.
  5. Territory — surrounding empty space, and counting a finished game.
  6. Play! — a full 9x9 game against the computer, using everything above.

Once you're through it, the written guides go further: how to play your first game step by step, how scoring works, andstrategy for beginners for once you've played a few. The full set is in learn to play Go.