Go-bang

How to play Go-bang

The rules

• Two players, Black and White, take turns placing one stone on an empty point where the lines cross. A Go board works well, and so does any grid of at least 13 by 13. Black goes first.
• A stone never moves once it is placed, and in the ordinary game nothing is captured.
• The first player to make an unbroken line of five stones of their own colour — across, down or diagonally — wins. A line of six or more counts as well.
• If the board fills up and nobody has five in a row, the game is a draw.
• The masters' rule is an extra for experienced players. When exactly two of your opponent's stones stand in a line with one of your stones at one end, placing a stone at the other end captures the pair, and it comes off the board. It works in every direction, diagonals included. Three or more stones in a line cannot be captured.

In this version

• The masters' rule is off unless you switch it on. With it on, a pair is captured only when the opponent places the stone that closes it: if you yourself place a stone that makes a pair between two enemy stones, your pair is safe.
• Captures do not win the game. They are counted on the screen, but only five in a row wins.
• The machine looks for rows and threats a few moves ahead. It is a sensible opponent, not a master.

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