Controls

You play by placing stones. Tap an empty intersection to place your stone there. Players alternate, and stones don't move once placed, though they can be captured.

Capturing and life are the core ideas:

• Capturing happens when a stone or connected group of stones has no adjacent empty points left, its 'liberties.' A group completely surrounded is captured and removed from the board.
• Territory and eyes decide the game: you score the empty space your stones surround. Groups stay alive by enclosing two separate empty points, called eyes, which make them impossible to capture.

The game ends when both players pass, at which point territory plus captured stones decides the winner.

Against the computer, the difficulty rises across eight levels, so the opponent fights for territory more sharply as you climb.

Tips

• Play in the corners first. Territory is easiest to secure in the corners, since the board edges do part of the surrounding for you, so the opening usually starts there before moving to the sides and center.
• Make your groups live with two eyes. A group with two separate enclosed empty points can never be captured, so ensuring your important groups can form two eyes keeps them safe for the rest of the game.
• Value influence, not just captures. Go isn't mainly about capturing stones but about surrounding territory, so a wall of stones facing open space is often worth more than grabbing a few enemy pieces.
• Don't try to save every stone. Sometimes a few stones are lost causes, so sacrificing them to build strength elsewhere is wiser than pouring moves into a group that can't be saved.
• Balance the whole board. Spreading your stones to stake out several areas early is usually stronger than piling into one local fight, since Go is won across the entire board.
• Learn to recognize life and death. Knowing whether a group can make two eyes, and thus live, or can be killed, is the single most important skill in Go, so studying these shapes pays off enormously.

Frequently asked questions