# Go, the Board Game, From Zero

Go has about a page of rules and more depth than any other classic board game. You place a stone, the opponent places a stone, and from that tiny loop come fights, sacrifices, and moves that strong players still argue about after centuries. Nobody hands beginners the way in: the rules look too simple to be a game, and then you lose your first ten games without seeing why.

This guide gives you the way in. Each phase teaches one layer, shows it on small diagrams that were checked move by move, and ends with a quiz so you know it stuck. You learn the Japanese rules, because they are the classic ones and the easiest to explain on a board, and one section shows how Chinese-style counting compares so you can follow any game you meet.

## How to read this

- **Brand new to the game?** Read in order and play small. Use a 9x9 board (a printed one, a real set, or any free online board) for every example. A 9x9 game takes about 10 minutes and teaches the same ideas as the full 19x19 board.
- **Know the rules already?** Jump to [Life and Death](03-life-and-death.md) or [Opening, Shape, and Tesuji](05-opening-shape-and-tesuji.md).
- **Here for the AI story?** Read [Reading Ahead, and How AlphaGo Changed Go](06-reading-ahead-and-alphago.md), then continue to [How Computers Play Games](/guides/how-computers-play-games).

## The phases

1. **[Stones, Liberties, and Capture](01-stones-liberties-and-capture.md)** - the board, how a stone lives or dies, atari, and the one move you may not play.
2. **[Ko, and Why It Exists](02-ko-and-why-it-exists.md)** - the shape that could repeat forever, and the rule and the fights that come from it.
3. **[Life and Death](03-life-and-death.md)** - why two eyes make a group uncapturable, false eyes, and seki.
4. **[Counting: Territory, Prisoners, and Komi](04-counting-territory-prisoners-and-komi.md)** - how a game ends and who wins, plus how area scoring compares.
5. **[Opening, Shape, and Tesuji](05-opening-shape-and-tesuji.md)** - why corners come first, efficient shape, and tactics you can verify by reading.
6. **[Reading Ahead, and How AlphaGo Changed Go](06-reading-ahead-and-alphago.md)** - how to think several moves deep, and how a program learned to beat a world champion.

> Sibling guides in this category teach [Sudoku](/guides/sudoku-from-zero), [Checkers](/guides/checkers-from-zero), and [Chess](/guides/chess-from-zero). Reading ahead is the skill they all share.