This go game online free board lets you play the ancient strategy game in your browser on 9×9, 13×13 or the full 19×19. You get proper captures, a ban on suicide moves, positional superko, Chinese area scoring and komi. The default 9×9 board is quick enough for a lunch break. Play a friend with a room code, share one device, or practise against a computer opponent from Beginner to Expert. There is no download and no account.

How to Play the Go Game Online Free

Go is played by two players, Black and White, who take turns placing stones on the intersections of the grid. Black plays first. Stones never move once placed, but they can be captured. The aim is to surround more of the board than your opponent.

1. Place a stone on any empty intersection.
2. Count liberties. The empty points directly next to a stone or group are its liberties.
3. Capture an enemy group by filling its last liberty. Those stones come off the board.
4. Pass when there is nothing useful left to play. Two passes in a row end the game.
5. Mark dead stones by tapping groups that cannot survive. Both players then accept the result.

Go Rules Used Here

• No suicide. You cannot play a stone that leaves your own group with no liberties, unless the move captures something.
• Positional superko. You may not repeat any earlier board position. This covers the basic ko rule without extra house rules.
• Chinese area scoring. Your score is your live stones plus the empty points you surround. Neutral points score for nobody.
• Komi. White receives 7.5 points by default to make up for moving second. The older 6.5 is available as an option.
• Handicap. Optional handicap stones can be placed on the star points (hoshi) for uneven matches.

Controls

• Touch or mouse: tap or click an intersection to place a stone.
• Pass and Resign buttons sit beside the board.
• Scoring: after two passes, tap groups to toggle them dead or alive, then accept the score.
• Keyboard: there are no dedicated keyboard shortcuts.

A last-move marker and capture counts keep the game easy to follow. As in printed diagrams, the coordinates skip the letter I.

Game Modes

• Online with friends: create a room and share the code.
• Challenge online players: see who is free in the arena and send an invite.
• Local vs: two players share one board on one device.
• vs Computer: the AI uses Monte Carlo tree search in a Web Worker. Beginner plays quickly from heuristics, while Hard and Expert spend a real thinking budget. When scoring, it marks dead stones conservatively, so a seki is not wrongly treated as captured.

Go is one of 67 free games on My MP Games.

Board Sizes

• 9×9 (default): fast, tactical games, ideal for learning.
• 13×13: more room to fight, with the same Chinese rules and komi.
• 19×19: the full traditional board, with star points, handicap and the strongest thinking AI.

Go Strategy for Beginners

• Corners, then sides, then centre. On small boards, corners need the fewest stones to secure.
• Make two eyes. A group with two separate, real eyes can never be captured. Give every group room to make them.
• Stay connected. Cut groups are weak groups. Before you attack, make sure your own stones are linked.
• Do not chase everything. Saving a lost group just feeds your opponent more points. Let it go and play elsewhere.
• Learn ko. Superko means you cannot immediately retake a single stone in a ko. Make a threat elsewhere first.

A Short History of Go

Go began in China more than 2,500 years ago and is among the oldest board games still played today. It is called weiqi in China, baduk in Korea and igo in Japan, where professional play flourished for centuries. For decades, Go was seen as the hardest classic game for computers. That changed in 2016, when DeepMind's AlphaGo defeated top professional Lee Sedol. The board on My MP Games is a friendly place to begin: start on 9×9, learn life and death, and move up to 19×19 when you are ready.

Go FAQ

Can I play the go game online free against a friend?

Yes. Create a room and share the code, or choose Local vs to play on one device.

Can I play Go against the computer?

Yes. The AI has five levels, from Beginner to Expert, and runs in your browser in a Web Worker.

What board sizes can I play?

9×9 is the default, and 13×13 and 19×19 are available in the variant picker.

Which scoring rules are used?

Chinese area scoring: live stones plus surrounded empty points, with 7.5 komi for White by default, or 6.5 if you prefer.

How do you capture stones in Go?

Fill the last empty point, or liberty, around an enemy stone or group. The captured stones are removed from the board.

How long does a game of Go last?

A 9×9 game often takes 10 to 20 minutes, while a full 19×19 game can take much longer.

How do you play Go for beginners?

Start on 9×9. Take corners first, keep your stones connected, and make sure each group can form two eyes.