Controls

You play by placing stones on the board's intersections. Tap an empty point to place your stone, and players alternate, with Black moving first.

The key is what Black is not allowed to do:

• White plays freely with no restrictions, and wins by making a line of five or more stones. As the second player, White has fewer limits to balance Black's first-move edge.
• Black is restricted and may not create a double three, a double four, or a line longer than five stones. Making any of these forbidden shapes loses the game for Black immediately.

Black wins only with exactly five in a row, while an overline of six or more loses for Black but wins for White.

These rules balance the first-player advantage. Against the computer, the difficulty rises across eight levels.

Tips

• If you're Black, plan around the bans. Since double threes and double fours lose for Black, you have to find winning attacks that don't rely on those shapes, which is the central challenge of playing Black.
• As White, use your freedom. White can make the very formations Black is banned from, so as White you can play more aggressively and set up the double threats that Black must avoid.
• Watch the exact-five rule for Black. Black wins only with a line of exactly five, and a six-in-a-row overline is a loss, so as Black, avoid extending a four into an overline by mistake.
• Force single threats as Black. Because you can't rely on double threats, building strong single lines of four that your opponent must block, while quietly preparing the next, is how Black wins under the rules.
• Learn the forbidden shapes cold. Knowing exactly what counts as a double three or double four keeps you, as Black, from accidentally losing to a rule rather than to your opponent.
• Control the center. As in Gomoku, stones near the middle have the most room to form lines in every direction, so starting central gives you the most attacking options within the rules.

Frequently asked questions