Go

Elminster_Amaur · 11-15-2007, 08:07 PM

So, uh...anyone play Go?

I picked it up yesterday, and man, for a game with such simple rules, this game sure is complex. In case you were wondering, yes, I read Hikaru no go before deciding to do so, but that wasn't the reason.

I thought that since this is a Chinese game that is said to teach important strategies, it would be important for aspiring martial artists to learn.

In case you're unfamiliar with the rules of the game, there are generally nineteen columns and nineteen rows. The board starts empty, and black always goes first, except in handicap matches, in which case the lesser player is black and places a certain number of stones on the board ahead of time. From there, the objective is to gain as much territory as possible.

So far, I've lost 6 times in a row. XD

Currently, I'm reading some Go guides on some guy named Fujiwara no Sai's profile on Scribd. Apparently this person too liked Hikaru no go.

I found this thing called "Panda Net" which has a graphic UI for playing Go over the 'net, and would love to play some of you, if you play, because it's quite fun, even if I always loose.

Aerozord · 11-15-2007, 08:13 PM

I love Go. And I wouldn't call it Chinese, its one of those games so ancient its next to impossible to give it a country of origin.

Honestly I think best thing was when I played against someone from American Go Association, I have since been beating the crap out of my peers. Granted these are the same people that play a game way too long... I've never seen a player with a score of -27 before.

Elminster_Amaur · 11-15-2007, 08:53 PM

-27? What on earth does that mean?

I was calling it a Chinese game because originally, it was said to have been invented for the son of a Chinese emperor. Obviously it didn't stay a Chinese game, I just don't like using the word "oriental". But most of the Eastern culture came either from China or India, and if it's clearly not Indian and none of the other countries are claiming it, you just gotta assume China.

The scoring on the games I've been playing is a little different from the scoring in Hikaru no go, so I don't know if it just shows that I'm extremely bad, or if they're using a completely different scoring system.

I've only now gotten used to making sure to protect my pieces by forming two eyes, but in the latest game I played, that caused me to have a gigantic plot straight up the middle, while the other guy had everything else.

I've been solving the problems out of the books, and I'm starting to understand a little bit of the theory behind the game, but it's just a lot to take in at first. So far, even the other beginner class players have been beating me soundly.

Aerozord · 11-15-2007, 09:00 PM

well you minus points for captured stones. He had so many captured pieces it vastly outnumbered his territories

bananarama · 11-15-2007, 09:29 PM

Go... it's that game where you put random colored stones on a random grid to do some random stuff, right? .... yeah I never really understood it...

MasterOfMagic · 11-15-2007, 10:31 PM

I was once trying to learn it. I got all the simple rules down, but the overall strategy just baffled me. I didn't honestly put too much effort into studying it, but the depth of those stones really was amazing.

11-15-2007, 08:07 PM	#1
Elminster_Amaur Her hands were cold and small. Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: My Mind Posts: 2,049	Go So, uh...anyone play Go? I picked it up yesterday, and man, for a game with such simple rules, this game sure is complex. In case you were wondering, yes, I read Hikaru no go before deciding to do so, but that wasn't the reason. I thought that since this is a Chinese game that is said to teach important strategies, it would be important for aspiring martial artists to learn. In case you're unfamiliar with the rules of the game, there are generally nineteen columns and nineteen rows. The board starts empty, and black always goes first, except in handicap matches, in which case the lesser player is black and places a certain number of stones on the board ahead of time. From there, the objective is to gain as much territory as possible. So far, I've lost 6 times in a row. XD Currently, I'm reading some Go guides on some guy named Fujiwara no Sai's profile on Scribd. Apparently this person too liked Hikaru no go. I found this thing called "Panda Net" which has a graphic UI for playing Go over the 'net, and would love to play some of you, if you play, because it's quite fun, even if I always loose. __________________ "It just rubs me the wrong way." -CJ, most likely about non-yaoi porn or something

11-15-2007, 08:13 PM	#2
Aerozord So we are clear Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Former murder capital of the world Posts: 13,824	I love Go. And I wouldn't call it Chinese, its one of those games so ancient its next to impossible to give it a country of origin. Honestly I think best thing was when I played against someone from American Go Association, I have since been beating the crap out of my peers. Granted these are the same people that play a game way too long... I've never seen a player with a score of -27 before. __________________ "don't hate me for being a heterosexual white guy disparaging slacktivism, hate me for all those murders I've done."

11-15-2007, 08:53 PM	#3
Elminster_Amaur Her hands were cold and small. Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: My Mind Posts: 2,049	-27? What on earth does that mean? I was calling it a Chinese game because originally, it was said to have been invented for the son of a Chinese emperor. Obviously it didn't stay a Chinese game, I just don't like using the word "oriental". But most of the Eastern culture came either from China or India, and if it's clearly not Indian and none of the other countries are claiming it, you just gotta assume China. The scoring on the games I've been playing is a little different from the scoring in Hikaru no go, so I don't know if it just shows that I'm extremely bad, or if they're using a completely different scoring system. I've only now gotten used to making sure to protect my pieces by forming two eyes, but in the latest game I played, that caused me to have a gigantic plot straight up the middle, while the other guy had everything else. I've been solving the problems out of the books, and I'm starting to understand a little bit of the theory behind the game, but it's just a lot to take in at first. So far, even the other beginner class players have been beating me soundly. __________________ "It just rubs me the wrong way." -CJ, most likely about non-yaoi porn or something

11-15-2007, 09:00 PM	#4
Aerozord So we are clear Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Former murder capital of the world Posts: 13,824	well you minus points for captured stones. He had so many captured pieces it vastly outnumbered his territories __________________ "don't hate me for being a heterosexual white guy disparaging slacktivism, hate me for all those murders I've done."

11-15-2007, 09:29 PM	#5
bananarama Old Gregg Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,189	Go... it's that game where you put random colored stones on a random grid to do some random stuff, right? .... yeah I never really understood it...

11-15-2007, 10:31 PM	#6
MasterOfMagic ahahah Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 3,456	I was once trying to learn it. I got all the simple rules down, but the overall strategy just baffled me. I didn't honestly put too much effort into studying it, but the depth of those stones really was amazing.