Tygem
Tygem is a Korean Go server.
- Korean site:
http://www.tygem.com/
- Japanese site:
http://www.tygem.co.jp/
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Tygem news
As of June 2008, no English version of the Tygem site exists.
Some years ago, Tygem was known as Live Baduk. As such, the client executable is named LiveBaduk.exe.
Setting up and using Tygem for English users.
Tygem uses the same client as TOM, and it also accepts any accounts you may have on that server. If you have yet to create an account on TOM account, do so now by following the online instructions found here.
After creating your TOM account, visit Tygem to download the client, or download it directly by
clicking here.
Before installing the client, you must tweak your computer to correctly support Korean fonts. Should you have the fonts installed and fully functional, you may skip past this part, but it is important that you ensure steps 5 and 6 have been done. You may also want to look at using the AppLocale program if you are running Windows XP, as this will allow you to avoid steps 5 and 6 below.
- [1] Access your Control Panel by clicking on the Start menu then Control Panel.
- [2] Switch to classic view if using Windows XP.
- [3] Double click on the icon Regional and Language Options.
- [4] Click on the Languages tab. If the Install Files For East Asian languages is not checked, check it now and apply settings. You may need to have your Windows installation CD at hand to install the files.
- [5] Click on the Advanced tab. Under Language for non-Unicode programs, click on the dropdown box and select Korean.
- [6] Under Code Page conversion tables, ensure 10003 (MAC - Korean) is selected.
- [7] Apply settings, reboot if required.
If you are using Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, Microsoft provides a tool called AppLocale that allows you to choose the Language for non-Unicode programs-setting on a per-program basis. This will allow you to avoid steps 5 and 6 above, and will avoid having some of your older English-language programs appearing in Korean! To use this, however, you still have to complete steps [1]-[4] above if you don't have asian fonts installed, yet.
After following the above instructions, your system should now correcly be setup to install and use the program Tygem. Double click on the LiveBaduk install file and navigate your way through the installation. Once complete, open the program, and enter in your username and password. To the right of the username and password text fields is the login button, click that and you're in.
When logged on, you may notice that a popup window appears, and upon closing it you are logged out. I have found no solution to this, so instead I drag the window to the lower corner, so as not to interfere with the use of the program.
I'd appreciate it if a Korean speaker would add the Korean equivalent for Pass (한수 쉼), Resign (기권), Undo (한수 물리기), Challenge, Deny (거절), Accept, and so on, below this paragraph, for those who cannot navigate the client. Thanks.
Good luck!
FAQ: How to get in?
Velirun: This is reputedly the best server in existence... if you speak Korean. I received some copious instruction on the interface by a native speaker, and managed to finally play some games. I'd always heard that the Koreans play violent go... but after playing scores of games on Tygem and Cyberoro... I can't deny there is some truth.
Babelfish will not help you... you need a Korean SSN to create an account. If you manage to either get a friend to give you their SSN or talk to Tygem administration and get an account, be warned that your operating system lanaguage MUST be set to Korean in order to start up the client.
Benjamin: That's not true. Well, you get that nice Windows message that the program crashed, but if you just ignore it it works fine.
My comment from Korea : Install tygem client and find LiveBaduk.exe whose size is 4,636 KB It will get you to its login screen directly. Livebaduk is the previous name of Tygem server.
Anon: Is there any chance someone could provide a form letter or similair that one could send to the administration? I expect it would have to say that we have limited Korean communication skills, that our name/country/email is such and such, and that we would like an account with such and such a username and password.For me, I could fumble around with the client and get by, if only I could get an account. Any help would be greatly appreciated! (Alternatively, if someone could confirm the details tygem wants before creating an account for a foreigner, please post that and I will hire someone to translate a letter to korean, and post that here.)
Helger, in search for a good Go server: for a different view, I got a Korean friend who helped me to create an account for foreigner (yes it is possible, there is a choice for that, you do not have to have a SSN but still must understand what they ask...). I downloaded the client, but as a Linux user, didn't get in: wine just chokes (I get a few error messages in Korean and then it exits). At least I had a better success in DashN.
Anonymous: I run tygem on Linux successfully with the help of Virtualbox OSE and my old winxp cd. I use the Taiwanese client through applocale and went through the Taiwanese registration site with no problems. I didn't need any kind of confirmation or SSN to activate the account, even the email could have been a nonexisting one. Only special thing I did was to add support for Far East languages during xp setup, and changed the default language for non-unicode programs (didn't work without applocale anyway). I didn't get anything to work through wine. I expect the Chinese client and registration site would work just as well.
My comment from Korea : I got a report that it runs well on vmware. Good luck !
Anon: Thanks for the information, Helger. I did some more searching and found a page, http://service.tygem.com/member/foreign_register.html. I understand most of it, except how to send them the ID. They say Fax, but also email, so I hope a scanned/photographed copy of ID will work in an attachment. If you can provide any more advice, it would be great. Thanks again!
Helger: I think the best is to find some Korean who can help you with that. Like I said above, there was no need for a SSN... On the other hand, I am not sure, may be my Korean friend submitted his own SSN ^^.
Velirun: Good news for all! I managed to find a friend to help me set up a foreigner account. It seems that to sign up, you need to go through the form mentioned above, then email or fax them a copy of your passport, driver's license, and social security card (!). If I get a reply and an account set up, I will post better details on how to get on, along with some basic instructions on how to use the client.
Someone else?: You must be joking?
With all the respect to Tygem, don't you think that sending such info is risky? Why do they need it anyway? Reuven (Well sure it's a way to check that each user'll only have one recognisable account... But why on earth, do they care? o_O)
Velirun: Koreans are required to provide their national ID number. I imagine this is their idea of an analogue for foreigners. In any case, I am aware that with the right information, you can become a victim of identity theft. I did manage to get a foreigner's Tygem account set up, without providing sufficient information for this. For example, I replaced the last 5 digits of my SSN with x's, and I censored some parts of my driver's license. It didn't seem to make a difference to them - I got my account.
ilan: Hi, it looks like most of your links at your Baduk Books site are broken, including Tygem How To.
Ohh... Well all that's left for me then is to... Get a driving license.. o_O (lol, yeah not that bad...;) Reuven
TOM Go Server essentially uses the same software as Tygem. I found the registration to be a bit easier, though. So you might have better luck there. Chinese players are quite strong, too ;) mdm
b: How can we use Tygem software for playing games? I managed to go inside, observed games, someone (apparently) challenged for a game, we started the game, but I couldnt find the buttons for undo, resign, pass, count etc. Any Tygem user can help for which buttons are which, for challenging and during the play?
Anon: By way of trial and error. During a game. The first button from left to right is pass. The 2nd is to ask opponent to score the game / end game. Last button is resign. To challenge an opponent right click on name and click first item in pop up menu. I got a tygem account by way of using google translate tools on the web pages. Send tygem an email to vaildate the account for me. I eventually got one after many emails and a photo of my UK passport. I play exclusively on Tygem now ;)
knakts: Where can the client be downloaded? The direct download link is apparently out-of-date, and I cannot find it on tygem.com. :( Can anyone help, please?
Tygem works great on wine for OS X Leopard, as long as I set the local to Japanese (I registered on the Japanese site) using 'export LC_ALL=ja_JP' before launching LiveBaduk.exe.
Rank Comparison
Comparing Tygem rankings and strength to other servers such as KGS, I came up with the following assumptions.
KGS 1k = approximately 4-5k Tygem.
Tygem 16k = approx. KGS 9-10k.
and, the most interesting:
Tygem 7-8d= Amateur 6-7d in Korea. Tygem 9d= near pro levels. Many 9d players on Tygem (amateur players) have been known to win against pro players (often 9p).
I have personally witnessed a famous 9d amateur player play against Gu Li 9p on Tygem.... amazingly, the betting odds favored the amateur player.
Anonymous: I believe you'll find this article interesting http://go-news.blogspot.com/2007/04/how-strong-are-tygem-stars.html