Go online. Bring your next idea to the board.

Choose how to play Go

The main Play Go Online button opens a local board. Use the top menu to choose your company.

• Same device: two people share a screen and alternate moves.
• Play with a friend: create a private invitation and send it to your opponent. The host is Black and the guest is White.
• Vs computer: select Easy, Medium or Hard. You play Black.

There is no random matchmaking. Private games use a link you share with someone you choose.

Start with nine lines each way

A 9 × 9 board offers a compact introduction to liberties, capture and territory. The 13 × 13 board gives your groups more room, while 19 × 19 is the full board.

Choose the size before creating a private table. An invitation inherits that size, and online rematches keep it. Local and computer games can change size from the menu, with confirmation before replacing an unfinished round.

Stones, liberties and territory

Black starts. Take turns placing one stone on an empty intersection of a 9 × 9, 13 × 13 or 19 × 19 board. A group consists of stones of one color connected horizontally or vertically. Diagonal stones are separate.

An empty point next to a group is a liberty. Fill the last liberty of an enemy group to capture all its stones. Your own group must have at least one liberty after captures: suicide is forbidden. Positional superko forbids a placement that repeats any earlier board position; passes are exempt.

The aim is to control more area. Five stones in a row has no special meaning in Go. There is no move limit or clock.

Make the final count together

When neither player wants to place another stone, press Pass. Two consecutive passes open score review. Tap a dead group to fade its stones; tap it again to restore it. Small black and white squares show territory. Empty regions bordered by both colors, or neither, remain neutral.

Area scoring adds living stones and empty intersections bordered only by your color. White receives 7.5 extra points, called komi. Captured stones are displayed for reference and are not added to the total again. The higher score wins.

Both players must confirm the same score. Changing a dead-group selection clears both confirmations. If you disagree, either player can choose Resume play: the marked stones return, and the player whose turn follows the passes moves next. Play out the disputed capture, then pass again when ready.

Keep your place at the table

Local and computer rounds save separately in the current browser. A private room keeps its confirmed board on the server. After a connection drops, the game reconnects and retrieves the saved position.

Both friends must be connected to act. Use your original browser and invitation to recover your seat. Opening the seat in another tab replaces its previous connection. Clearing browser data loses the seat token; rooms expire after seven days of inactivity.

See the guides for shared-screen Go, private invitations and computer practice.