From: mathwft@math.canterbury.ac.nz (Bill Taylor) Subject: Re: Rules for GO? Date: 15 Feb 2001 01:25:06 GMT Newsgroups: rec.games.abstract This is all you really need to know, (the "Tromp-Taylor" rules):- ============================================================== The Logical Rules ------------------ 1. Go is played on a 19x19 square grid of points, by two players called Black and White. 2. Each point on the grid may be colored black, white or empty. A point P is said to reach a color C, if there is a path of (vertically or horizontally) adjacent points of P's color from P to a point of color C. Clearing a color is the process of emptying all points of that color that don't reach empty. 3. Starting with an empty grid, the players alternate turns, starting with Black. 4. A turn is either a pass; or a move not leaving a grid coloring left by that player before. 5. A move consists of coloring an empty point one's own color; then clearing the opponent color, and then clearing one's own color. 6. The game ends after two consecutive passes. 7. A player's score is the number of points of his color, plus the number of empty points that reach only his color. 8. The player with the higher score at the end of the game is the winner. Equal scores result in a tie. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comments -------- 1. The grid of points is usually marked by a set of 19x19 lines on a wooden board. Each player usually has an arbitrarily large set of stones of his own color. By prior agreement a rectangle of different dimensions may be used. 2. Using boards, coloring a point (intersection) black or white means placing a stone of that color on the point. Coloring a point empty, i.e. emptying a point, means removing the stone from it. 3. For handicap games, the weaker player, taking black, may be given an "n stone handicap"; these are n consecutive moves played before the first white move. In some variants these must be played on named points. 4. This is the "situational superko" rule. ("Positional" superko ignores whose turn it is.) 5. Note that for any single move, at most one of the clearing processes can have effect; the first is called capture, the second suicide. 6. After both players say "pass", they may by agreement remove any stones before continuing with rule 7. If they fail to agree in full, the game continues, treating those sayings as "unofficial", so the last mover's opponent should make the next move. 7. This is called "area scoring". The so-called "captured" stones are irrelevant. 8. By prior agreement a fixed amount, "komi", can be added to white's final score. It can be made non-integral, to avoid ties. It should be made odd so results agree with "territory" scoring in almost all games. 7 is recommended as komi. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Taylor W.Taylor@math.canterbury.ac.nz ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ten minutes to learn, a lifetime to master. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________ / ___________________________________ \ _--""""--_ / /_/_/_/_/_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_\_\_\_\_\ \ / \ / /_/_/_/_J__L_L_L_|_|_|_J_J_J__L_\_\_\_\ \ /\ /\ / /_/_/_J__L_J__L_L_|_|_|_J_J__L_J__L_\_\_\ \ L ""-____-"" J / /_/_J__L_J__L_J_J__L_|_J__L_L_J__L_J__L_\_\ \ \ / / /_/__L_/__L_J__L_J__L_|_J__L_J__L_J__\_J__\_\ \ \_ _/ / /_J__/_J__/__L_J__|__L_|_J__|__L_J__\__L_\__L_\ \ "-____-" / / F / F J J | F J | F J | F F J \ J \ \ / /--/-J--/--L--|--L-J--J--|--L--L-J--|--J--\--L-\--\ \ ===============================================================================