RULES

OPENING LAYOUT

(For completeness, some of the rules from Game 1 are here repeated.)

- 1 -
At the outset, the King or Navel Stone (the piece larger than all the rest) is placed in the centre of the board, where it remains throughout the game. Then eight White and eight Black stones are placed according to the Opening Layout diagram above.

- 2 -
Players decide colours and White goes first. Thereafter, the colours alternate between the players.

- 3 -
In the first stage, players take turns to place a stone at a time into the vacant holes. When all a player's 27 stones have been placed, those on the board become free to move along any one line. No turning onto other lines, no jumping over pieces and no doubling back on yourself.

- 4 -
White's aim is to create a continuous (not necessarily straight) line of stones linking the Navel Stone to the circumference.

- 5 -
Black's aim is to force White to resign, either by decisively cutting off the centre, or by reducing White's strength to less than seven stones (the minimum needed to win).

- 6 -
When challenged to resign, White must either win outright or capture a Black stone in the next five moves. If the challenge is defeated by a capture, White may remove any two Black stones from the board before taking the next turn.

                              - 7 -
An enemy piece is captured by trapping it between two of your own. That is, by making a pair immediately next to, and on opposite sides of a single stone, as indicated by the lines on the board.

- 8 -
Capturing an enemy's piece entitles you to another turn. This can be repeated any number of times.

- 9 -
You may enter the space between two enemy pieces on the board without harm, but if one of them is moved you become vulnerable to attack.

- 10 -
Captured stones go out of play till the game's end.

- 11 -
The Navel Stone is considered as White until Black's pieces start to move on the board, after which it counts as either colour for capturing stones in the inmost circle.

- 12 -
In the first stage of the game, players must display all their pieces, or show them on demand.

TACTICS

GENERAL

For experienced players there is no particular advantage in being either White or Black, but the balance of power does shift in the course of the game and both sides need to bear this in mind.

In the first stage, when players are setting their pieces on the board, White has a definite advantage. Even if an outright win is not possible, White should make the most of this to keep Black on the run and set things up for the second stage.

In the transition from first to second stage, the advantage briefly goes to the side that still has pieces in hand to place on the board. For this reason, wholesale massacres of your opponent in the early stages need to be handled carefully, they tend to backfire at this point.

In the second stage, when both players' pieces are moving on the board, the underlying advantage passes to Black for a while. In the absence of any bold plan, White's best bet is to consolidate avenues to the circumference and avoid losing pieces.

Thereafter the balance of power steadily evens out and the initiative belongs to whoever is bold enough to seize it.

WHITE

The goal for White is the same as in Game One, but you will find a slightly different strategy required because now all Black's energy is focused on blocking you.

White's main aim should be to secure several lines across the third, fourth and fifth rings, because these are the easiest for Black to secure. Then the offensive can be switched from one line to another.

Towards the end of the first stage, White should check the safety of its pieces in the innermost ring. As soon as Black starts moving its pieces on the board it can use the Navel Stone to take them.

It is easier for White to win outright in the first stage, but an experienced Black player will find ways of preventing it. The first stage is then best used to set the scene for the second. With experienced and evenly matched players this game can last for several hours.

BLACK

Black's first aim should be to stop White establishing strong lines across the third, fourth and fifth rings. For new players this will seem a harder task than White's, and it is, but there are several standard moves which, once grasped, will nearly always ensure that the game goes through to the second stage. Then Black has the advantage for a while.

The first reward for Black on reaching the second stage is that it can use the Navel Stone to attack White's pieces in the first circle. If White has forgotten this (as often happens), the result can be devastating.

Then, if the inner and middle rings are reasonably secure, it is not a bad idea to set about just capturing as many stones as possible till some pattern emerges.

White usually recognizes defeat without having to be challenged. In cases of stubbornness Rule 6 can be invoked, but you must be very sure of what you are doing. The price of a failed challenge is usually victory for White.