Gomoku Rules & Strategy

Gomoku, or Five in a Row, needs just a board and two colours of stones: take turns, and the first to line up five wins.

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Rules

On a 15×15 board, Black moves first. Players take turns placing a stone on an empty intersection.
Five or more in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally wins.
If the board fills up with no five in a row, the game is a draw.

Rule variants

Freestyle: Five or more wins, with no forbidden moves. This is what domi plays.
Standard: Only exactly five wins; six or more (an overline) doesn't count.
Renju: Black has forbidden moves, such as double threes, double fours and overlines, to offset the first-move advantage.

Source

Strategy

An open four: four in a row with both ends empty. Your opponent can block only one end.

Open three: three in a row with both ends empty. Left alone it becomes an open four, so it must be answered at once.
Open four: four in a row with both ends empty. It can't be stopped.
Double threat: one move that makes two threats at once (such as a four and a three). Your opponent can block only one.
Open near the centre: stones there can extend in every direction, while edges and corners are easy to shut down.

Did you know?

In 1994 Victor Allis proved that on an empty 15×15 board with freestyle rules, the first player always wins with perfect play. That is why tournaments use Renju or opening rules such as Swap2 to even things out. Source

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