This is one of the latest interests in my "inevitably-get-an-interest-in-all-things-Japan-along-with-learning-Japanese" tendency. I was introduced to the game of Go many years ago by a Chinese friend. I sucked at it, so my interest waned and I forgot all about it. Now that I'm learning Japanese, I've been reminded of the game's existence and am possibly interested again and even brushed up on the rules of the game.

Anyone here play Go? Share your Go adventures with us.

Aside from a brief time when I dabbled in it after reading/watching the intense manga/anime series, Hikaru no Go (great manga/anime BTW!), I haven't played. Gomoku is simpler, so I like to play that. There seem to be a lot of online Go servers around though...

I discovered Go thanks to HNG manga, in first few pages drawings were very detailed and this was the only reason I decided to download it and start reading I've been playing Go for fun ever since. Tournaments (local & international), Go camps, private lessons, playing in various leagues etc. I've done them all and had incredible fun & met lots of cool people.

I actually plan on using Go as a tool for improving my Japanese while in Japan. When you visit/travel through a country random conversations with complete strangers aren't all that common or useful for actually learning something, but if you have a common interest its a whole different story. I'll literally invade Go salons in Japan, play tons of games, meet new people and review (in Japanese) as much games as possible.

After reading some comparisons between chess and Go, I'm interesting in trying Go out. Maybe my judgment has been tainted by the comparisons, but the kind of thinking Go demands seems more beneficial for the philosophical mind than chess (I'm a grad student in philosophy). And while this is clearly the wrong place to ask, does anyone here have enough experience with both games to comment on the kind of thinking that both of them involve?

@vileru

Hard to explain if you haven't played it.

This is a good place to start: http://senseis.xmp.net/

Personally, I first tried it out by using Learn to Play Go (series) to learn the basics, and experimenting with computer Go (Many Faces of Go, Tensai Go, etc.).

Gomoku is great, had lots of fun.

Haven't tried other games though.

[ファブリス]

I'm pretty sure we had a topic about Go, hard to search though.

ファブリス Wrote:I'm pretty sure we had a topic about Go, hard to search though.

Yeah, that's why I try to refer to it as igo/囲碁 or baduk, myself. iGo? ^_^

I'm a keen Go player and, as well as being a great game in itself, I have also found it a really good way to study Japanese. The Hikaru no go manga is terrific fun and I have got some old NHK Go TV programmes on video which are good for getting some listening practice.

Last summer I spent a few weeks in Japan. I went to several local Go salons and Go clubs in community centres. Everyone was really delighted to have a gaijin player and it was a great way to mix with people you probably otherwise wouldn't be able to meet. I'd recommend anyone to give it a go. The highlight for me was playing a teaching game with a professional and getting my photo in a Japanese go magazine!

If anyones interested in playing the game, there are a number of good online servers, which are good places to learn. KGS is the one I use and I'd be happy to play some teaching games with anyone who's interested.

Try out dragongoserver.net

In my opinion go is easier to learn than chess, but the strategy is much deeper.

I also watched/read HnG. Good stuff. =)

I tried to get into it. Played 9x9 against the computer a lot, and solved puzzles in my spare time... but I was always too impatient to play the real-sized board.

After a while, I was kinda starting to see how it's played, started to identify patterns and so on. But I got bored by then and switched to something else... probably Tekken 5 or something.

I feel like Anki + Go puzzles are a perfect fit though. You could probably go really far with that. =)

Tekken 5 is the best strategy game of all time...

At least, I have fun kicking the crap out of my students when I see them in the arcade. I'm all like "I've been playing Tekken since you were three years old, kid."

ohhh Go!!

Strangely enough, in my 4 years of Chinese school (I dropped out because I sucked), one thing I really did learn well was Go in the club they had.

I'm not half bad! If I can remember my skills .

I haven't played in years, but I had a big interest using the iGo server and a Keseigo(?) server that was really good.

The internet was a big boon to Go, allowing the American and European continents to take part with professionals from Japan, China and Korea. Kind of like it's done for language. Oh internet, is there any problem you can't solve.

While in Japan, I found myself to be pretty much the only Westerner to have an interest in Go. There was an old Ojiisan who came and brought his Go board once a week, so I got to play a bit. Besides him, nearly all Chinese guys at university played it, and every single one of them beat me.

..kinda sad to be talking in past tense, it's only 2 weeks back :/

Tzadeck Wrote:Tekken 5 is the best strategy game of all time...

At least, I have fun kicking the crap out of my students when I see them in the arcade. I'm all like "I've been playing Tekken since you were three years old, kid."

the sad part is, the experience of playing for a month in today's world is the equivalent of playing for a year in the past world...

How long does a Go game last, typically?

Seamoby Wrote:How long does a Go game last, typically?

It varies greatly depending on the size of the board, player skill, and importance of the match. There's plenty of recorded pro games that lasted longer than a day, but amongst normal people playing a casual game you're expected to make each move reasonably quick (except for tricky situations) and concede when you've clearly lost so 30min-1hr is reasonable.

tom2000 Wrote:... I'd be happy to play some teaching games with anyone who's interested.

I'd like to take up your offer. I'll send you an email.

ファブリス Wrote:I'm pretty sure we had a topic about Go, hard to search though.

http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=1348

In the thread nest0r posted a link to a nice side with English/Japanese Go Terminology: http://senseis.xmp.net/?JapaneseGoTerms

Go is fun on the internet, you can try http://www.gokgs.com/ or http://www.pandanet.co.jp/English/ . Both are free to play and have programs to download to be able to play. Have fun!

overture2112 Wrote:

Seamoby Wrote:How long does a Go game last, typically?

It varies greatly depending on the size of the board, player skill, and importance of the match. There's plenty of recorded pro games that lasted longer than a day, but amongst normal people playing a casual game you're expected to make each move reasonably quick (except for tricky situations) and concede when you've clearly lost so 30min-1hr is reasonable.

Thank you for the info. I imagine it will be a slower game if the players are beginners.

So I've looked at a few online go servers: KGS, dragonserver, online-go (OGS). The latter two are mainly for slower turn-based games. So far, as a beginner, I'm most comfortable with OGS. KGS is a bit intimidating for me. Dragonserver is probably okay, too, but I have yet to play a game there (I've requested a teaching game but they haven't replied yet). At OGS, they have several ranked bots which one can use to estimate one's rank. The other servers have bots, too, but I'm not sure if they can be used for ranking. I didn't think there was a rank lower than 30 kyu, but I'm lower than that now, lol. I'm learning from my mistakes, though. I guess this is why they tell you to play a lot of games quickly as a beginner.

I also got a used copy of Toshiro Kageyama's "Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go". Pretty quirky but fun style of teaching.

Seamoby Wrote:I imagine it will be a slower game if the players are beginners.

Usually it's the opposite. Since the game tree is so large, you cannot analyze even a few moves into the future without resorting to heuristics and your intuitive/heuristic processing is sorely undeveloped as a beginner, thus most beginners will quickly find themselves spending a great deal of time thinking about useless moves in far too much detail.

For that reason, some people consider it rude when a novice "wastes" time like this (although in my experience most people who opt to play with a beginner are kind enough not to voice their irritation). Deep analysis of moves should be reserved for studying life or death problems and understanding joseki, the knowledge of which will help you use less time to make smarter decisions during actual games.

Obviously there's times when people need to stop and think about a move during matches too, but for beginners, that time is almost always after the match has ended and the players are reviewing the game (which is the perfect time to quickly play out possible moves with each other).

EDIT: Tip: You can spend all the time you want on your moves when playing against bots and they won't mind at all

Hi everyone,

I am interested in Go myself. I'm an absolute beginner but would like to join a Go club in Tokyo, I mean a real Japanese Go club that accepts people at level zero and where I could play with Japanese beginners and teachers, not exclusively foreigners.
I'm a gaijin, I suck at Japanese and Go, but I would like to mix some Japanese people into the company as regards Go.
My Japanese friends have no clue, as if Go didn't exist

Thanks in advance!
efeilliaid

@overture2112 great insight, thanks. Because of that problem, would you recommend those kinds of Go servers that are not usually played "live," with both players active at the same time? So that you're not wasting someone else's time by thinking too long.