Basic Go Page
What is Go? Go is a game that has been played thousands of years in Asia; of course, what really matters isn't how old the game is, but how fun it is.
In Go, you place "stones" on the intersections of a board. The rules are pretty simple; you put a stone down, and it's on the board. While it's there, if your opponent can surround it entirely (so there are no open spaces next to it) then it is "captured" and taken off the board. If you play a stone right next to it, you treat the two stones as one entity; they support eachother, so that to capture them, your opponent has to surround both of them.
The igowin (the downloadable free Go program) has a clear and easy tutorial that will teach you, and it can play some games with you (and it, unlike Chess, is not impossible to defeat); it is recognized among Go players as a good introduction to the game (you will learn enough to play the game). It scores the games too, and marks which territory is yours and which was the computer's and any spaces that belong to neither of you; scoring seems confusing at first, but it's really easy.
Go has absolutely no random elements to it, which makes it nice as a strategy game. If you are interested at all, follow the first link. If you are still interested, follow the second link. For more stragegic info, follow the third link.
Useful Links
Download Computer Go -- No need to be shy
US Go association, for extra info
Free Go Problems -- Practice for aspiring players
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