Go · Rules and setup
Take turns placing stones. At the end, count live stones and exclusively surrounded empty points; White adds 7.5. After both sides confirm the same dead-group proposal, the higher total wins.
Go · 0
2–2 players · Untimed; duration varies by position
WANGO wango-go-area-v1; 19 × 19, White komi 7.5, positional superko
WANGO 19 × 19 Go rules and controls
Winning and ending the game
Take turns placing stones. At the end, count live stones and exclusively surrounded empty points; White adds 7.5. After both sides confirm the same dead-group proposal, the higher total wins.
Setup
Go · Basic Table Setup
Center of the table
- A board with 19 × 19 intersections and nine star points
- Columns A–T skip I; rows run 19–1. Stones go on intersections
Each player
- One side per color, Black first; human seats use their account portraits
- Friend rooms save on the server; local games resume in the same browser
WANGO wango-go-area-v1; 19 × 19, White komi 7.5, positional superko
Turn sequence
Same-color horizontal and vertical connections form a group; adjacent empty intersections are liberties, and diagonal lines do not connect. → Select a candidate at an empty intersection, check the coordinates and the enlarged view, then confirm the move. → When both sides pass consecutively, scoring begins; click a stone to mark or restore an entire dead group. → Score by living stones plus surrounded territory, with White receiving 7.5 points; after both sides confirm, the winning margin is displayed.
Check groups and liberties
Stones connected orthogonally form a group. Adjacent empty intersections are liberties; diagonals do not connect.
Black plays first on an empty board. Liberties and recommended moves are not shown by default.
Select and confirm a move
Select an empty intersection, check the coordinate and magnifier, then confirm.
Remove opposing groups without liberties before checking your own group. Suicide and recreating an earlier board position are forbidden.
Pass twice and review dead groups
Two consecutive passes open scoring. Select a stone to mark or restore its whole group as dead.
Changing the proposal clears both confirmations. Resume play if there is a disagreement.
Confirm and settle
Count live stones plus territory and add 7.5 for White. Both players confirm before the margin becomes final.
Prisoners add no extra points. Resignation concedes; an agreed early end is unfinished.
Prisoners add no extra points. Resignation concedes; an agreed early end is unfinished.
Scoring and settlement
Site strategies discuss tradeoffs in the shown position and do not promise any route always wins.
Ending and victory
Take turns placing stones. At the end, count live stones and exclusively surrounded empty points; White adds 7.5. After both sides confirm the same dead-group proposal, the higher total wins.
- Take turns placing stones. At the end, count live stones and exclusively surrounded empty points; White adds 7.5. After both sides confirm the same dead-group proposal, the higher total wins.
Common rules and exceptions
How do liberties and captures work?
Count distinct orthogonally adjacent empty intersections. After a move, remove adjacent opposing groups without liberties before checking your own liberties.
Which moves are illegal?
Occupied intersections are unavailable. A move with no liberties after captures is suicide. A move may not recreate any earlier board position: positional superko.
How do passing and resuming work?
Passing is always allowed, including under superko. Two consecutive passes open scoring. Either side may resume from the unchanged board; consecutive passes reset and repetition history remains.
Who marks dead groups, and how are stale confirmations avoided?
In friend games, players mark entire dead groups and confirm; the system does not automatically declare life or death. Every change clears both confirmations. Resume play to resolve disagreement.
How is area counted, and why does White add 7.5?
After agreed dead stones are removed, each live stone and empty point in an area bordering only one color counts as one. Areas bordering both colors or neither are neutral. White adds 7.5; prisoners add no extra points.
How do disconnecting, resigning and an agreed early end differ?
Disconnecting is not an automatic loss; friend rooms can recover after a refresh. Confirming resignation gives the opponent the win. An agreed early end requires the other side and has no winner.
How do I play against AI and confirm the final score?
AI mode uses GNU Go with no rank claim and runs in the background on this device. Review dead groups yourself. Once you confirm, the partner accepts the same proposal. You may resume play; life and death are not automatically adjudicated.
Follow a real sequence
Teaching position: a White group has one orthogonally adjacent empty point left.
Find the last liberty
Teaching position: a White group has one orthogonally adjacent empty point left.
That point is the White group’s last liberty.
Diagonal empty points are not liberties.
Black occupies that point
Assuming no old position is repeated, Black plays on that empty point.
The whole White group has no liberties and is removed.
Capture the opponent first, then check the new Black group’s liberties.
White plays next
Record the coordinate and number of captures, then pass the turn to White.
White cannot play a move that repeats an earlier position.
Superko checks all earlier board positions, not only the last move.
Remember for your first game
- This guide covers the WANGO 19 × 19 area-scoring variant. Chinese, Japanese and AGA rules differ in repetition, komi and ending procedures; check the rules of other versions separately.
- Stones connected orthogonally form a group. Adjacent empty intersections are liberties; diagonals do not connect.
- Count distinct orthogonally adjacent empty intersections. After a move, remove adjacent opposing groups without liberties before checking your own liberties.
This guide covers the WANGO 19 × 19 area-scoring variant. Chinese, Japanese and AGA rules differ in repetition, komi and ending procedures; check the rules of other versions separately.
Getting started: questions and answers
Who is Go for?
Board edges help form boundaries, so corners often need fewer stones to surround space.
What should first-time Go players remember?
WANGO wango-go-area-v1; 19×19 board, White receives 7.5 points of komi, positional superko; the player count and duration on this page are shown according to this site's trial-play mode.