What is the goal of Go (Weiqi / Baduk)?

The goal is to surround and control more territory than your opponent by placing stones on the intersections. Capturing enemy stones supports that aim, but the winner is decided by total territory plus captures at the end of the game.

What board sizes can I play Go on?

Go is traditionally played on a 19×19 board, but 9×9 and 13×13 boards are popular for learning and quicker games. XiangqiPlay supports 9×9, 13×13 and 19×19.

How do you capture stones in Go?

Surround an enemy stone or group until it has no empty adjacent points (liberties) left. Placing the stone that removes its final liberty captures the group and removes it from the board.

Learn

How to play Go

Weiqi / Baduk for complete beginners — stones, liberties, capturing and territory.

Step 1 of 7

The board & the goal

Go is played by placing stones on the intersections of the lines — including the edges and corners. The aim is to surround more empty territory than your opponent (and capture enemy stones along the way). This is a small 7×7 board; real games use 9×9, 13×13 or 19×19.