The Japanese Game of Go

[PhotonGuy]

Anybody familiar with the game of Go from Japan? From what I heard about it, it relies heavily on strategy so it is much like Chess in that sense, but I also heard it can be more complicated than Chess, so does anybody know much about it? I might want to try it out.

 

[Chris Parker]

Then find a group nearby that plays, and give it a go (ha!). No amount of description is the same as the experience, it might sound intriguing but you find it boring… it may sound complicated, but you find it simple. As with everything, if you're interested in it, go out and find it.

Just to keep it on a martial arts note, though, it's from the ranking structure of Go that Kano developed the modern idea of kyu and Dan grades… there was no such ranking before him… with some alterations, of course.

 

[zzj]

Anybody familiar with the game of Go from Japan? From what I heard about it, it relies heavily on strategy so it is much like Chess in that sense, but I also heard it can be more complicated than Chess, so does anybody know much about it? I might want to try it out.

'Go' is the Japanese name for 'Wei Qi', which was invented in China some 2500 yrs ago. There is practically no luck involved and the rules are about as simple as you can get, simply placing your pieces on the board one at a time in order to encircle the opponent's pieces, however, the complexity comes in the strategy and the depth of the game.

The following link will probably give you more info and opinions/strategies about the game than you will ever want to know...

Go Board Game BoardGameGeek

By all appearances, it's just two players taking turns laying stones on a 19×19 (or smaller) grid of intersections. But once its basic rules are understood, Go shows its staggering depth. One can see why many people say it's one of the most elegant brain-burning abstract games in history, with players trying to claim territory by walling off sections of the board and surrounding each other's stones. The game doesn't end until the board fills up, or, more often, when both players agree to end it, at which time whoever controls the most territory wins.

The earliest mention of Go (圍棋 (wéi qí)- "surrounding game") appears in the "Analects" of Confucius (551-479 BC), while the earliest physical evidence is a 17×17 Go board discovered in 1952 in a tomb of the former Han dynasty (206 BC- 9 AD). There is a tangle of conflicting popular and scholarly anecdotes attributing its invention to two Chinese emperors, an imperial vassal and court astrologers. One story has it that Go was invented by the legendary Emperor Yao (ruled 2357-2256 BC) as an amusement for his idiot son. A second claims that the Emperor Shun (ruled 2255-2205 BC) created the game in hopes of improving his weak-minded son's mental prowess. A third says the person named Wu, a vassal of the Emperor Jie (ruled 1818-1766 BC), invented Go (as well as games of cards). Finally, a fourth story suggests that Go was developed by court astrologers during the Zhou dynasty (1045-255 BC).

 

[PhotonGuy]

Maybe I'll stick with Chess. But Go might still be worth looking into.

 

[kuniggety]

You might also want to look into Shogi which is must closer to being the Japanese equivalent of chess. The noticeable difference is that taken pieces can be dropped back onto the board, drastically affecting the gameplay. The types of pieces and the way that they move are very similar to chess.

 

[jks9199]

With a little hunting, you can find an online/computer version of Go. Give it a try... I find it's much harder than it seems like it should be...