Comparison
Gomoku vs Go: Same Stones, Very Different Games
Updated October 6, 2026
Gomoku and Go look alike: black and white stones, played on the intersections of the lines, and stones never move once placed. Because they look so similar, many people assume one is just a harder version of the other. In fact their goals, capture rules and ways of thinking are almost completely different.
The differences at a glance
| Gomoku | Go | |
|---|---|---|
| Board | 15×15 | 9×9 or 19×19 on this site |
| How to win | Be first to line up five stones of your colour horizontally, vertically or diagonally | Control more area at the end (your stones plus the empty points you surround) |
| Captures | None; once placed, a stone stays for the rest of the game | Stones whose liberties are all filled are captured and removed |
| How it ends | Someone makes five in a row; a full board with no line is a draw | Both players pass in a row, then the board is counted and White adds 7.5 points of komi |
| Game length | Usually a few minutes | A 9×9 game takes a quarter of an hour or so; 19×19 can take much longer |
| Rules on this site | Freestyle: six or more in a row also wins, and there are no forbidden moves | Only the simple ko is checked, not whole-board repetition |
Two completely different ways of thinking
- Gomoku is a sprint: every move is about lines, and the key is creating two threats at once (for example two open threes, or a four plus an open three) so your opponent can only block one.
- Go is about territory: a move’s value depends on its effect on the whole board and on whether groups live or die. Giving something up locally to gain more elsewhere is the most typical idea in Go.
- In Gomoku you almost always have to answer your opponent’s threat; in Go you can often play elsewhere, leaving a local fight for later to take a bigger point on the board.
- Go has liberties and captures: the empty points directly above, below, left and right of a stone are its liberties, and a group whose liberties are all taken is removed. Gomoku has nothing like this.
Which one should you learn first?
If you want to start right away and finish a game in minutes, begin with Gomoku: the rules fit in one sentence, games are fast and great for short breaks. If you are ready to invest in a game that keeps getting deeper, Go offers almost endless room. Start Go on the 9×9 board, get comfortable with liberties and captures, and then move up to 19×19.
Play both on this site
Gomoku and Go both start right in your browser here, with AI games, ranked matchmaking, friend invites, spectating and replays. In Go you can pick a 9×9 or 19×19 board. At the end the board is counted directly — your stones plus empty points surrounded only by you — with no separate dead-stone step, so settle any disputed groups before the game ends.