How to play Go

March 14, 2024 4:49 PM

Recommend a site where a beginner can learn Go.
posted by partner to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

https://www.seattlego.org/how-to-play/
posted by bq at 4:54 PM on March 14

https://www.usgo.org/
posted by bq at 4:54 PM on March 14

Of course once you learn the basics, the best way to learn is to play. The Dragon Go Server is a very popular correspondence-style forum.
posted by mr_roboto at 5:01 PM on March 14

I bought on sale and really enjoy The Conquest of Go, which doesn't mess with the game itself but nests boards of increasing size and opponents of increasing difficulty in an overall "conquer the land" meta-game.

I don't get better at Go; I'm a perennial striver. So I've never gotten that far in the game. But I find it a bit more gratifying than getting pummeled by an AI or opponent over and over.
posted by Shepherd at 5:52 PM on March 14 [1 favorite]

I recommend gomagic and badukpop.
posted by dhruva at 12:19 AM on March 15 [1 favorite]

Online-go.com
posted by matkline at 1:18 AM on March 15

I found Nick Sibicky on youtube really helpful.

KGS, Pandanet, and OGS for playing online.
posted by unreasonable at 4:56 AM on March 15

Starting to play Go is really hard because the rules seem so simple but the implicit consequences of them are not obvious, and you need to learn those before you can really be playing the game. Reddit is full of posts asking "We just finished our first game, what's the score?" and the answer is always "The game's not over yet".

The best (and definitely slickest) intro I've seen is from Go Magic. Those videos are free but if you get more interested they have a bunch more that cost money. They also have a very active Discord server where beginners are welcome.

Beginner questions are welcomed on Reddit, too: it's r/baduk (the Korean name for Go).

The Online Go Server is the best place for English speakers to start playing other people.
posted by dfan at 5:55 AM on March 15 [1 favorite]