How to play Gomoku

The goal

Playing

• Black always moves first, then the players take turns placing one stone each. Stones never move or get taken.
• Tap a point to place your stone. On a phone, the first tap shows a see-through stone with guide lines, so you can check it’s on the right point: tap it again (or press Place) to put it down. Slide your finger to move it.
• On a keyboard, move the ring with the arrow keys and press Enter or Space to place a stone.
• The red dot marks the last stone played.

Winning

• Five in a row wins. With “Five or more” (the usual rule) six or more in a row wins too; with “Exactly five” a row of six or more doesn’t count, for either player.
• If the board fills up with no winning row, the game is a draw.
• Resign gives the game to the computer. Starting a new game partway through counts as a loss.

Tips

• An open three (three in a row with both ends free) must be blocked at once, or it becomes an open four that can’t be stopped.
• A four (four in a row with one way to finish) forces a block. Making a four and an open three with one stone usually wins.
• Black has the advantage of moving first. Playing white is a good test once you can beat the computer as black.

Settings and records

• New game lets you play black, white, or take turns, and choose the winning rule.
• Easy misses some of your threats. Normal blocks well and sets traps. Hard reads long forcing sequences and is tough to beat.
• Undo takes back your last move and the computer’s reply. Your games won and fastest win are kept for each difficulty.

Questions

Strategy guides