Rules of Go
The strategic consequences of the rules of Go are generally the same worldwide, even though there are very different rules texts.
If you simply want to start playing, please read Rules of go - introductory. More information is at Rules of Go - second tutorial.
At some time in a player's career more information on details may be needed or desired.
It seems that go is like many other games, in that instructions on how to play are rather different from complete sets of rules. Perhaps go can be compared to golf or bridge, for example: the idea of the game is simple, but there are so many circumstances to cover that a complete piece of legislation can seem complex. Go is certainly very rich in unexpected situations that cannot be appreciated easily except on the basis of experience.
This page is a listing of rules pages on SL in the technical sense. Please don't consult these pages if you are looking for tutorials. It is possible to become confused with too much legal talk.
If you are just beginning, and wish to have a minimum description of 'real' go, Rules of go - introductory and the Stone Counting Method should be enough to get you started.
If you are looking for practical information about the end of the game, which is often found to be a difficulty , see Counting and Scoring.
Table of contents |
Rule texts
These pages contain information about rule sets, and external references to official sources and expert commentary.
Official Rulesets
- AGA Rules
- British Go Association Rules[1]
- Chinese Rules
- Computer Olympiad rules
-
EGF General Tournament Rules
-
EGF: Simplified Ing Rules
- French Rules
- Ing Rules
- Japanese Rules
- Korean Rules
- New Zealand Rules
- World Mind Sports Games Rules
Non-official Rulesets Sorted by Title
- Einfache Gebietsregeln
- NetGo (non-standard boards, multi player)
- No Pass Go
- Simple Rules
Non-official Rulesets Sorted by "Inventor Name"
- Harleqin: Einfache Gebietsregeln
-
Ikeda Rules
- IGS rules
- Jasiek, Robert:
Applicable Traditional Japanese Rules
- Jasiek, Robert: Japanese 2003 Rules
- Jasiek, Robert:
Multi-Player Go Rules
- Jasiek, Robert:
New Amateur-Japanese Rules
- Jasiek, Robert:
Simplified Japanese Rules
- Jasiek, Robert:
Simplified World Mind Sports Games Rules
- Kee Rules of Go
- Lasker-Maas Rules
- Mailing-list "go-rules": International Rules
- Makrai Rules
- MG Rules of Go
- Pauli, Robert: Logical Japanese Rules of Go
- Spight Rules
- Tromp-Taylor Rules
Tournament Rules
Table
Here are two tables comparing various rule sets:
Note: these tables differ on the question of whether free placement of handicap stones is allowed in AGA rules and in Chinese rules. For discussion, see /handicap placement.
Game Play
- Rule of capture
- Suicide
- Ko Rules come in several varieties.
- Super Ko
- Ing Ko Rule
- Spight Superko Rule
- These Ko shapes are useful to reference while reading about Ko Rules: Triple Ko and Eternal Life.
Game End
There are also several methods to define the score (result).
- Scoring (an overview)
- Territory And Area Scoring (deeper discussion)
- Korean Scoring
- No Pass Go (avoids counting and scoring entirely, just defines winner)
- Kee Cyclic Scoring (a scoring system which is unbiased upon cycle by catering to the possibility of multiple scoring board positions)
Counting Methods
When played on a physical board, determining the score involves manually counting. There are different counting methods in use. Some rule sets prescribe which counting method must be used, others do not.
- Chinese Counting
- Japanese Counting
- Stone Counting Method
- Prisoner-counting for Stone-scoring
- Ing Counting
Links
-
Robert Jasiek's Go rules page
- Extensive commentary on the various rulesets appears in the appendices of Mathematical Go
- Go Rules Bestiary
- Rules Disputes
[pl:http://wiki.go.art.pl/index.php/Regu%B3yGo]
[1] At 2008 Annual General Meeting of the British Go Association (BGA), the BGA ratified the decision to adopt the AGA Rules as the rules of the BGA.