KGS User's Guide

  Difficulty: Beginner   Keywords: Online Go, Clubs & Places

Since KGS is a rapidly developing server, the documentation seems to lag well behind the supported features. This page is here so that KGS users have a place to share tips and information about the client.

Table of contents

Help installing the Client and Java VM

Feel free to skip this section if you have a system where this is very easy, such as Windows or Mac OS X.

On Debian GNU/Linux, you can download the Java VM you'll need by typing the following in a root shell:

  echo 'deb [ext] ftp://www.tux.org/pub/java/debian stable main non-free' >> /etc/apt/sources.list
  apt-get update
  apt-get install j2re1.4

Replace stable with testing or unstable if you are running one of those distributions. Next, grab CGoban from the 'Other Unix" section on [ext] http://kgs.kiseido.com/en_US/download.html and unpack. To run it, simply type

  java -jar cgoban.jar

in the directory where you unpacked the tarball. For conveniance, you might want to put a script in /usr/local/bin, see the other files in the tarball.


Q: How do you associate .sgf with the java client (winxp)?
A: In windows, if you know pretty much what you're doing, and it just doesn't seem to associate properly, add the switch -home="c:\dir\where\cgoban\is" to the application line in the file types association for saved go games/sgf files, or whatever it is cgoban calls it exactly. If that makes no sense to you, reinstall the sucker and check the box to make it your default sgf editor!-TJ


Getting Started - Tips for Beginners

Rankings (Ratings)

Pictures

Clock (Timer)

aussiemate: If, however, your opponent has claimed a win then the option for more time is gone.
Thing: It seems to me that the honourable thing to do, when you run out of time, is to play another move straight away.

Tips for the Board Window

Observing Players Games

Tips for All Windows

Evpsych Define "normally" here, please? Are you assuming an OS, a browser, a Java library, KGS, ...? Some of us yokels think that C-a should mean beginning of line :-), which shows that we aren't "normal".

Naturally you can also select text with the mouse.

Player Courtesy

A computer crash may also cause such a sudden disappearance, so it is best to extend the benefit of the doubt, especially in the absence of odd timing such as just having lost a major group.
A common courtesy is to add more time if and when a disconnected player returns after five to ten minutes, so that he or she will not suffer from hasty play?. (See the "Options" menu in a game board, second button from the top in the row near the top right). If the missing player doesn't return within ten minutes, then one may with a clear conscience close the game board for later continuation.
The server will automatically save nearly all unfinished and finished games up to six months old for easy viewing within the client, and permanently archives nearly all unfinished and finished games at [ext] http://kgs.kiseido.com/en_US/archives.html.
Please note that it's counterproductive and silly to refuse to play a player who has been given "The Wiggley" if he or she is of higher rank than yourself.
lavalyn: Math terms: "~" if ( 2 * #games of equal rank or "?" rank + 5 ) < (#games against players of higher rank). So, asymptotically, if you play stronger players about twice as often as other players, then you get branded.
falstaff: Here are links to recent rec.games.go discussions about this feature: [ext] Patrick's explaination and [ext] Bill's clarification
bochip: Thanks falstaff. Lavalyn's formula doesn't seem to square with Bill's (wms') clarification. Has wms changed the equation? Assuming I'm reading things right, it seems to me that glibber's explanation was based on Patrick's explanation (but did not take into account Bill's clarification) and that lavalyn's explanation mistakenly used the word "equal" instead of the word "lesser". My present understanding is that the formula should read as follows: "~" if ( 2 * #games of LESSER rank or "?" rank + 5 ) < (#games against players of higher rank).

Rich: Does it only apply to rated games? How does it treat games against unranked (-) players?

Thad: What does a ~ mean when it appears mext to a rank in the "Create New Game" (aka the join game window ) window? Like bubba[10k]~ ?

Shaydwyrm: This is in fact the only place the ~ appears, its meaning is as described above.

Key List

Witness that "W+Time" means white won when the clock ran out for black, and that "B+Res." means black won when white resigned.

Admins and assistants

Viewing Japanese fonts on KGS

Richard Hunter: Some people want to be able to see Japanese characters, but all they see is little boxes. The problem is not having the right font. Instructions are given in the [ext] KGS FAQ. I sent wms the instructions for Mac OS based on advice I got from voldemort. I repeat them here, slightly modified, because I can edit this page easily and other people can add comments or questions.

Mac OS X

This procedure will enable a Mac OS X user to use KGS in English mode but also read and write Japanese. It works for the downloaded client but not for the JavaStart version, so you have to repeat the process every time the client is updated, but it only takes 20 seconds.

  1. Japanese is included in the OS X easy installation. Set your system preferences. International: keyboard: check Kotoeri (third from the end; the flag with the round red spot) for Japanese input in addition to US English. Download the KGS client. It should appear on your desktop. Modify it as follows before moving it to anywhere else, such as the Applications Folder.
  2. Control-click on CGoban icon. Choose "Show Package Contents".
  3. Double-click "Contents".
  4. In "Contents", double-click "Info.plist". A dialog box asks for an application to open it. Choose TextEdit in Applications.
  5. Find the line that reads "<string>English</string>. Double-click the word "English" and type "Japanese". It should now read "<string>Japanese</string>".
  6. Close and save.

Alternative methods are to:

  1. Set the CGoban preferences to Japanese, which gives you Japanese menus.
  2. Set the Mac OS X Finder to Japanese by dragging Japanese above English in the International System preferences.

chtito: I have a question about this. I would like to see both Korean and Japanese characters. It is clearly possible to see the Korean characters by following the preceding instructions and replacing "Japanese" by "Korean". But then how to have both Korean and Japanese?

Richard Hunter: The above method is a practical trick that works. The correct way to do it is to get you system to recognize the Java fonts. I don't know how to do that, which is why I can't see Japanese when I use the Java WebStart version. I would prefer to fix it properly, so if anyone knows, please tell.

Viewing Korean and Japanese fonts in Linux

See here.

Chinese, Korean and Japanese Fonts in MS Windows

See /Windows Fonts.

Bugs

Be sure that you report any bugs to [email] admin@igoweb.org before posting them here. All the bugs listed here should be ones that the admin already knows about.

See also KGS Bugs

Simultaneous Games

Lost Password

You can write to admin@igoweb.org requesting that a password be sent to the email address you registered with.

KGS Web Pages

The web page [ext] http://kgs.kiseido.com contains further information and allows to view information without being logged into KGS. E.g., you can can see games of particular persons by clicking on The KGS Archives and typing in their ID in the Games field.

See also KGS Wishlist

Credits

(As a point of clarification, wms wrote both the client and the server. The specs on the server haven't been released, but that allows wms to make changes to the server without breaking various clients, and vice versa. - Fhayashi)

Or rather, that when changes to the server *do* break the client, it is wms who must fix the client as well, and vice versa.

Other pages about KGS:


This is a copy of the living page "KGS User's Guide" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2004 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
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