I just bought a GO board!! help!!?

Question

well, i have no clue how to play it!! does anyone here know how to? and how would you? what exactly is the point? and do you know a site where i can play online for free? thanks so much!!

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/images/gifs/go-game.jpg

Answer 1

Go is a classic game that falls under the heading "A minute to learn, a lifetime to master".

1. Players place a single go stone of their color on the board each turn. Stones are played at the intersection of the board lines.

2. Whenever a stone or a group of stones of a color is completely surrounded, meaning that every intersection that touches that group is occupied by a stone of another color, the player of the surrounding color removes the surrounded stones and adds them to the captured stones. If the stone that is placed would immediately be captured but also encloses and captures a stone or group of stones of the opposing color, then the stones of the opposite color are captured (e.g. one space left within a group of stones, the hole is surrounded by black stones, but there is a connecting line of white stones, and the group of black stones is otherwise surrounded by white. If white plays a stone in that space, the black stones are captured, instead of the white stone being captured immediately on play.)

3. A player cannot play a stone to recreate the board situation from one turn prior (e.g. In an area of mixed black and white stones, Black plays a stone that captures a White stone. White cannot then place a stone in the space that was just captured to capture a black stone).

4. The game ends when both players pass, usually when a determination is made that no further plays will benefit either player. Scoring counts the areas enclosed by each player, less the stones that were captured by the opponent.

Other than that, there is further understanding about the strategy and mechanisms of Go, but those are the essential rules.

The BoardGameGeek entry for Go has more information about how to play for beginners, recommended resources, as well as eight different places to play Go online:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/188