Instant to start
Open the page and the board is already there. No account wall, no download, no splash video — pick an opponent and place your first stone in seconds.
About Us
About playgomoku.app
We publish a free, modern browser version of Gomoku — connect 5, five in a row, wuziqi — with a computer opponent, two-player mode, undo, and a board that fits any screen.
Our craft
Five stones. One line.
Place a stone, read the threats, build the fork. That loop is everything we design around.
- Board
- 15×15
- In a row to win
- 5
- Ways to play
- 2
Board
In a row to win
Ways to play
What we make
A free Gomoku that stays in the browser
playgomoku.app is the site behind our version of Gomoku. The product is a two-player strategy game on a 15×15 board: Black and White alternate placing stones, and the first to line up five in a row — across, down, or diagonally — wins.
We are not an app-store publisher and there is nothing to download. The game is the website. That keeps load times short, works on phones and desktops alike, and avoids an account wall. Your record, streaks, and two-player tally live in local browser storage on your device.
If you are comparing this to another gomoku site, this page only speaks for playgomoku.app. The rules and game modes described in our how-to-play guide and FAQ match this exact build.
Our story
From the Go board to your browser tab
Gomoku has been played for well over a century on the same board and stones as Go. We treat that as a responsibility to get the rules exactly right and the friction as close to zero as we can.
- 01
A game on the Go board
Five-in-a-row games played with Go stones were popular in Japan by at least the Edo period, under the name gomokunarabe — “lining up five.” Because it needs only a board and stones, it spread widely as the quick, approachable cousin of Go, and as wuziqi (五子棋) it became one of the most played board games in China.
- 02
From gobang to Renju
The game reached Britain in the 1880s as “Go-bang.” In Japan, players worked to balance Black’s first-move advantage, and in 1899 the professional variant was named Renju, with restrictions on Black. In 1994 Victor Allis used computer search to prove that freestyle gomoku on a 15×15 board is a win for Black with perfect play.
- 03
This build
playgomoku.app is an independent, modern implementation of freestyle gomoku. The rules are the classic ones; what is new is a crisp board that scales to any screen, a computer opponent that reads threats on both sides, full keyboard play, synthesized sound with a real mute, and stats that stay on your device.
What we stand for
Principles behind every game
Honest rules
Freestyle gomoku on the traditional 15×15 board: Black first, one stone per turn, five or more in a row wins. The rules pages describe exactly what the game enforces.
Yours to keep
Your record against the computer, your streaks, and the two-player tally live on your device. We do not hold your record hostage behind a login, because there is no login.
Free, for real
The whole game is free. No energy meters, no video ads between games, no paid hint packs, and no pressure to install an app.
Who it is for
Players who want a clean game of five in a row
playgomoku.app is a family-friendly game with no chat and no store. A poor fit if you want online matchmaking or ranked ladders; a good fit if you want the real game of gomoku against a sharp computer or a friend beside you, on whatever screen is nearby.
Short sessions
A game of gomoku usually lasts a few minutes. It fits a coffee break, a commute, or a browser tab between tasks.
Thinking, not reflexes
There is no move clock. The whole challenge is reading threats and finding the one stone that makes two of them.
Two people, one screen
Two-player mode turns a phone or laptop into a board you can share across a table — the way gomoku has always been played.
Why this site
How playgomoku.app is different
Gomoku has thousands of implementations online, many buried under ads. This one exists to ship a single honest, fast version — correct rules, a real opponent, and no clutter.
A computer that defends
The computer weighs its own attacks against yours on every move, so it blocks open threes and punishes careless lines. You can play it as Black or White.
A board you can read
Coordinates on every edge, a marker on the last stone, a ghost preview under the mouse, and the winning five drawn across the board so you can see how the game was decided.
No clutter
No auto-playing video, no fake “download our app” banners, and no dark patterns. The how-to-play guide and FAQ describe this exact engine, not a generic write-up.
How we build
Designed for the browser you already have
The game runs entirely on the web: fast loads, tap / click / keyboard controls, and progress that stays local unless you clear your browser data. We use lightweight analytics to see what helps players — never to gate the game behind a profile. The engine on the home page is the one described on our rules pages, so search results and the live game never drift apart.
Play anywhere
Phone, tablet, and desktop share one board. Click with a mouse, tap on a touchscreen, or play from the keyboard with the arrow keys, Enter, and shortcuts for undo and new game.
Progress on your device
Wins, losses, draws, streaks, and your fastest win are stored locally. You own the continuity of your record without signing up.
Quiet improvement
We watch aggregate usage through Google Analytics to improve pacing and polish. Details are in our Privacy Policy — never as a sales pitch.
Contact
Stay in the loop
Feedback on the computer opponent, a bug report, partnership ideas, or a simple hello — we read every message. Hit the button and we will get back to you.
Stay in TouchPrefer the fine print first? Our legal pages cover how the site works and how we handle analytics.