10 variants of the oldest strategy game still played. From the full 19x19 tournament game to the quick 9x9, to Capture Go for beginners. Same plugin, different board sizes and win conditions.
Go's elegance comes from simple rules on different scales. The engine captures this: same plugin, parameterised by board size, komi, and scoring method.
The full tournament game. 361 intersections, komi 6.5, territory scoring, superko. The intersection layout mode renders stones at grid crossings rather than inside cells.
engine:
topology:
type: grid
rows: 19
cols: 19
layout: intersections
players: [black, white]
setup: ""
plugins:
go:
komi: 6.5
scoring: "territory"
superko: true
suicideAllowed: false
handicaps:
range: [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
positions:
- "15,3"
- "3,15"
- "15,15"Standard Go (19x19) — full tournament game with handicap support
Quick tactical games in 15 minutes. Same rules, smaller board, adjusted komi. The topology shrinks from 19 to 9, handicap positions shift. Everything else stays identical.
engine:
topology:
type: grid
rows: 9
cols: 9
layout: intersections
players: [black, white]
setup: ""
plugins:
go:
extends: "standard"
komi: 5.5
handicaps:
range: [2, 3, 4, 5]
positions:
- "6,2"
- "2,6"
- "6,6"
- "2,2"
- "4,4"9x9 Go — fast tactical games, same rules engine
First capture wins. No territory scoring, no passing, no komi. The universal teaching variant that introduces the capture mechanic in isolation. One parameter change transforms the win condition.
engine:
topology:
type: grid
rows: 9
cols: 9
layout: intersections
players: [black, white]
setup: ""
plugins:
go:
komi: 0
scoring: "capture"
captureTarget: 1
allowPass: false
superko: falseCapture Go — first capture wins, the perfect teaching variant
Every Go variant is playable with AI opponents at multiple difficulty levels.