This app uses Japanese rules. Your final score is the sum of four components:
Territory
Empty intersections completely surrounded by your stones. Flood-filled at the end of the game — any empty region touching only your colour counts as your territory.
Captures
Opponent stones removed from the board during play — whenever a group loses its last liberty and is taken off immediately.
Dead opponents
Opponent stones still on the board at game end that both players agree are dead (marked during the scoring phase by clicking them). Each counts as one point, same as a capture.
Komi (White only)
A fixed bonus added to White's score to compensate for Black's first-move advantage. 6.5 points is standard — the .5 prevents draws.
Brief rules overview
Go is a game where Black moves first and players alternate placing stones on the intersections of the board.
Place stones
Click any empty intersection to place a stone of your colour. Stones remain on the board until they are captured.
Capture groups
Connected stones of the same colour form a group. If a group loses all adjacent empty intersections, called liberties, it is captured and removed.
Illegal moves
You cannot play on an occupied point, make a suicide move, or immediately retake a simple ko. Superko is optional from the home screen and uses AGA/BGA-style repetition: no previous full-board position with the same player to move may be recreated.
Finish the game
Two consecutive passes move the game into scoring, or you can use End Game to go there directly.
IG
Imperial Go
Play Go on a board styled like a scholar’s table.
Two players use the same machine and alternate turns on a shared board.
Sorry, not implemented yet.
EasyHard
Your colourWhich stones you play
KomiBonus points for White
6.5 is standard
HandicapPre-placed stones for Black · White moves first
SuperkoAGA/BGA style: no repeated full-board position with the same player to move
Your colourThe joiner gets the opposite
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Waiting for opponent to join…
Free Go board game — no account needed
Go is one of the world's oldest and most strategic board games, originating in China over 2,500 years ago and played by millions across East Asia and beyond. Imperial Go lets you play a free online game of Go directly in your browser — no download, no sign-in, no cost.
Choose a 9×9 board for a quick game, 13×13 for a balanced match, or the full 19×19 for a complete game. Play a two-player local game on a shared screen, challenge a computer opponent across ten difficulty levels, or invite a friend to play in real time with a shared link.
Imperial Go uses Japanese rules with full territory scoring — counting territory, captures, dead stones, and komi. Optional handicap stones and superko are available for more competitive or teaching games.