Play Go online – free, with friends or against a bot
Go is the oldest board game still played, and the easiest to state: put a stone down, surround empty space, and keep your own stones breathing. Board Bash runs it on 9×9 or 13×13 — small enough to finish in one sitting, big enough for a real fight. Play a friend, take on the bot, or sit down against someone online.
How to play Go
Pick 9×9 or 13×13 when you create the game. Black plays first, then you alternate, placing one stone on any empty intersection. A stone never moves again.
The empty points touching a stone are its liberties. Stones of the same colour that touch each other form a group and share their liberties.
Fill the last liberty of an enemy group and the whole group comes off the board.
You may not play a stone that would leave its own group with no liberties — unless that same move captures, which gives it room to breathe.
A move may not recreate a position that has already appeared in the game. That is positional superko, and it settles the ko fight and every longer repetition.
Pass whenever you like. Two passes in a row end the game.
Scoring is Chinese area scoring: your stones on the board plus the empty points only you surround. White adds 7.5 komi for playing second, so a game is never tied. Groups that can no longer make an eye are counted as captured automatically, so there is no dispute step.
Frequently asked questions
Can I play Go against the computer?
Yes. Choose "Computer" when you create the game and pick one of four levels, from Rookie to Grandmaster. The bot plays on both board sizes.
What board sizes can I play on?
9×9 and 13×13. There is no 19×19 board here — the two smaller sizes keep a game to something you can finish in one sitting on a phone.
Do I need an account?
No. Open the page, pick a name and play. Board Bash asks for no email address and no password, and nothing is installed.