Go is one of the world’s great strategy board games and has been played for thousands of years. While it is infamously hard to master all the intricate strategies, learning the rules is easy and should not take more than a few minutes. It can be enjoyed at any level of ability so these rules are really all you need to fully enjoy a match!
Go is usually played on a square grid of 19x19 or 9x9 lines with a set of black stones for one player and white stones for the other. The goal is to get more points than your opponent. Players get points for surrounding territory and by capturing the opponent’s stones (which is covered in the following lessons).
Try playing a few practice moves as both Black and White to get the basic feel for it.
Now that the first step is behind you, let’s talk about capturing in the next chapter. More background information on the game is below if you are interested.