Mini Go: Play 9×9 Go in Your Browser

Mini Go

A compact 9×9 version of the ancient strategy game.

Black

Game status

Black to play. Surround stones to capture them.

Black captures

White captures

Estimated area score

Black: 0 · White: 0

Simplified estimate. Real Go scoring varies by ruleset.

How to play

Players alternate placing stones on intersections. A connected group of stones is captured when all its adjacent empty points (called liberties) are occupied by the opponent. Captured stones are removed from the board. Pass when you have no useful move. Two consecutive passes end the game; the player with the higher estimated area score wins.

About Mini Go

Mini Go lets you play Go online for free in your browser, on a compact 9×9 board. Go is an ancient strategy game from East Asia: two players take turns placing black and white stones, trying to surround more of the board than their opponent. The rules fit in a paragraph, but the strategy runs deep.

The full game is played on a 19×19 board and can take an hour or more. The 9×9 board keeps every game to a few minutes, which makes it the usual starting point for beginners and a quick game for experienced players.

Play a friend or the computer

In 2 Players mode you and a friend share the same screen. In vs Computer mode you play Black and the computer answers as White. It looks for captures first, then rescues its own stones in danger, then threatens yours, so it's a friendly first opponent rather than a strong one.

Rules this board enforces

Capture: a group with no empty neighbouring points (liberties) left is removed.

Ko: you can't make a move that recreates the board position from your previous turn, so the same stone can't be captured back and forth forever.

No suicide: you can't place a stone where it would have no liberties, unless it captures something.

Scoring: after two passes in a row, each side scores its stones plus the empty points it surrounds (area scoring).

Tips for your first games

Start near the corners, where it takes the fewest stones to claim territory. Keep your groups connected, and count the liberties of any group that looks short of space. If you're new to Go, the "How it works" button above links to a step-by-step rules introduction.