Guide
How to Play Gomoku
Gomoku — connect 5, five in a row, wuziqi — has one rule that matters: be the first to place five stones in an unbroken line. Here is the board, the turn order, the threats to watch, and the controls for this version.
Play GomokuThe objective
Get five stones in a row before your opponent
Gomoku is a two-player game of black and white stones. Players take turns placing one stone on an empty intersection, and the first to form an unbroken line of five — horizontally, vertically, or diagonally — wins on the spot.
Stones are never moved or captured, so the whole game is about tempo: every move either extends one of your lines, blocks one of your opponent's, or ideally does both. There is no move clock here; take as long as you need to read the board.
The game is free, runs in the browser, and needs no account. Open the board when you want to play; use this guide for the rules, the two game modes, and the habits that win more games.
The board
A 15×15 grid of 225 intersections
Stones go on the points where lines cross, not inside the squares. Columns are labelled A to O and rows 1 to 15, so every point has a name like H8 — the centre star point, where Black usually opens. Four more star points mark the corners of the central area to help you read distances.
The board starts empty and Black always moves first. Against the computer you choose your colour; in two-player mode the person who starts takes Black.
Controls
Tap, click, or use the keyboard
Every method places the same stone. Pick whichever fits the device in your hand.
Everywhere
Click or tap
Click or tap any empty intersection to place your stone there. On desktop a faint ghost stone follows the mouse so you can see exactly where it will land; the last stone played is marked with a gold dot.
Desktop & accessibility
Keyboard play
Focus the board, move the gold cursor with the arrow keys, and press Enter or Space to place a stone. Each move and cursor position is announced to screen readers with its board coordinate, such as H8.
Desktop
Shortcuts
U takes back your last move (and the computer’s reply), N starts a new game, and M mutes or unmutes the sound. Enter or Space also starts a game from the setup screen.
The loop
Four steps from first stone to five
Every game of gomoku follows the same arc.
- 1
Start on an empty board
Gomoku is played on the intersections of a 15×15 grid — 225 points in all. The board starts empty. Black always moves first, and the first stone usually goes on or near the centre star point.
- 2
Take turns placing one stone
Players alternate, each placing a single stone of their colour on any empty intersection. Stones never move and are never captured once placed, so every stone you put down stays part of the position for the rest of the game.
- 3
Make threats and block them
Three or four of your stones in a line become a threat your opponent has to answer. Most of the game is a race: extend your own lines while blocking the open ends of your opponent’s before they reach five.
- 4
Connect five to win
The first player with five stones in an unbroken row — horizontal, vertical, or diagonal — wins immediately. In this freestyle version a line of six or more also counts. If all 225 points fill with no five, the game is a draw.
Rules
Every rule that decides a game
The objective
Be the first to place five of your stones in an unbroken straight line: across a row, down a column, or along either diagonal. The game ends the instant a five appears.
Board and moves
The board is a 15×15 grid and stones go on the intersections, not inside the squares. Black moves first, then turns alternate one stone at a time. There is no passing, no capturing, and no moving a stone once it is placed.
Freestyle: five or more
This site plays freestyle gomoku, where a line of six or more also wins. In “standard” gomoku only exactly five counts and an overline does not. Renju, the tournament variant, adds restrictions on Black instead.
Draws
If every one of the 225 intersections is filled and nobody has five, the game is drawn. It is rare — most games between careful players end long before the board is half full.
Undo
Undo is allowed in every mode. Against the computer it rewinds both the computer’s reply and your move so you are back on your own turn. Starting a new game before a computer game ends counts as a resignation in your stats.
Game modes
vs Computer or 2 Players
Pick your opponent on the setup screen above the board. Stats are kept separately for each mode.
- 01 · Play Black or White
vs Computer
Take on the built-in computer opponent. Play Black to move first — the side with the natural advantage — or take White and defend against its opening. The computer reads both its own threats and yours, so it will punish an unblocked open three. Your wins, losses, draws, and streaks are saved.
- 02 · Pass and play on one device
2 Players
Two people share one screen and alternate turns, Black first. It is the way gomoku has been played for centuries — across a table — and it works just as well on a phone handed back and forth or a laptop between two chairs. Black and White wins are tallied separately.
Common mistakes
Why winning positions get thrown away
Answering the wrong end
An open three can be blocked at either end, and the choice matters. Pick the end that also blocks a second line or extends one of your own, not just the nearest point.
Attacking with nothing behind it
Making a lone four feels strong, but once it is blocked the stone is often wasted. Build attacks where your stones cross, so a block on one line leaves another alive.
Ignoring broken lines
Patterns with a gap, like X X _ X, are just as dangerous as solid ones. A single stone in the gap turns them into four — read gaps as threats, not as safe space.
Drifting to the edge
Following the fight toward the side of the board shrinks your options. Lines near the edge are already half blocked; pull the game back toward open space when you can.
- Play near the centre. A stone on the edge can only extend one way, so central stones are worth more.
- Block an open three at once — if it becomes an open four (four with both ends free), the game is over.
- Block on the side that also helps your own lines, so every defensive stone does double duty.
- Aim for a fork: a move that makes a four and an open three together (a “four-three”) cannot be stopped.
- Keep stones connected diagonally as well as straight; diagonals are the lines opponents miss most often.
- A four forces an answer. Use fours to gain tempo, but only when the forced reply does not help your opponent.
- Count your opponent’s threes before every move. Most lost games come from one unnoticed line.
Where you can play
Same board on phone and desktop
playgomoku.app runs in any modern browser with no app to install. Progress stays on the device you played on.
Desktop browsers
Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari all run the game with no plugin. Click to place a stone with a ghost-stone preview, or play entirely from the keyboard with the arrow keys and Enter.
Phones and tablets
The board scales to fit the screen so the whole 15×15 grid, the turn indicator, and the controls are visible at once in portrait. Tap an intersection to play; restart is instant with no page reload.
Stats on this device
Your record against the computer — wins, losses, draws, streaks, and fastest win — plus the two-player tally live in local browser storage. They stay until you reset them or clear site data, and they do not sync between devices.
Still stuck on a rule? Read the Gomoku FAQ or jump in and play.
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