Gomoku
Place black and white stones in turn. The first to make an unbroken line of five — across, down or diagonal — wins.
How to play gomoku online
- Open the Opponent selector in the toolbar and choose vs Computer or 2 players.
- If you chose the computer, open Level and pick Easy, Normal or Hard. The Level selector is hidden in 2 players mode.
- Click Options to set You play (Black moves first, or White), Board size (15 × 15 or 19 × 19) and Rules (Freestyle or Standard). Click Done. Changing the side, size or rules starts a new game.
- Click an intersection to place a stone. On a touch screen, you can turn on Confirm moves on touch in Options. Then the first tap shows a ghost stone, and a second tap on the same point places it.
- Read the stats row to check the Turn, the Moves count and the Score.
- Press Undo to take back your last move, or Hint to see a suggested point for 2.5 seconds. Press New game to start again.
The last move is marked with a small red dot, and a winning line is drawn in gold.
On a keyboard, the arrow keys move a square cursor, which starts at the centre point. Enter or Space places a stone. N starts a new game, U or Ctrl/Cmd+Z undoes a move, H asks for a hint, F toggles fullscreen, and Esc closes the result box.
How to play gomoku: what are the basic rules?
Players take turns placing one stone on an intersection of the board, not inside a square. Black moves first, and the players alternate after that. You win by getting five stones of your colour in an unbroken line that runs horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Stones cannot be moved or removed, and there is no passing.
Gomoku has no opening restrictions. Black may make any move, including moves that create two lines of three at once. If nobody makes a winning line and the board is full, the game is a draw. There is no time limit, so each player can think as long as they like.
What is the difference between Freestyle and Standard gomoku rules?
In Freestyle, a line of five or more stones of one colour wins. A line of six wins just as a line of five does. In Standard, only a line of exactly five wins. A line of six or more does not win, and the game continues. For example, a row of six wins in Freestyle but not in Standard. If one move makes exactly five in one direction and also makes an overline in another, that move still wins in Standard.
What gomoku strategy and tips work best?
Think in threats. A four is four stones in a line with room to make five, so your opponent must block it immediately or lose. A three with both ends open can grow into an open four, which has two ways to finish and cannot be blocked with one stone. Use your forcing moves to set up the next threat, not to waste them.
Look for double threats, where one stone creates two winning chances at once, such as a four with an open three, or two open threes. The opponent can block only one of them. The computer gives extra value to double threats, so expect it to look for them too.
Before you build your own line, check the opponent’s stones for fours and open threes. Every level blocks your four as soon as it threatens to become five, so a single four is not enough to win by itself. Also, watch the ends of your lines. Each open end gives you another way to make five.
In Standard rules, a line that would reach six does not count as a win. Count stones in each direction before you assume a move wins.
Stay close to the action. The computer pulls its moves toward the centre and near existing stones, so clustering your stones together keeps more options open for you.
The computer does not search deep forced sequences, so a plan with several forcing moves in a row can beat it. Hard is the strongest level, but strong players can still beat it.
How does the computer choose its moves?
All three levels score every empty point near the stones on the board, rewarding fives, fours and threes, and then pick a move from those scores. Easy defends weakly, does not reward double threats, and sometimes plays a lower-ranked move at random. Normal always plays its single best-scoring move with full defence. Hard looks one reply ahead, so it avoids moves that let you answer with a strong threat.
Every level always takes an immediate win and always blocks an immediate five. The computer replies in tens of milliseconds, with a short pause so you can see its move. The Hint button uses the Hard level to suggest a point for whoever is to move.
Frequently asked questions
Is gomoku online free, and do I need to sign up?
Yes, it is free, and you do not need an account or a sign-up. The game runs in your browser, so you can start a match right away.
Can I play gomoku on a phone?
Yes. The board accepts touch input. Turn on Confirm moves on touch in Options if you want a first tap to show a ghost stone before the stone is placed. This helps avoid accidental moves on a small screen.
Is my gomoku game saved?
Yes, but only on the device and in the browser you are using. The game in progress is saved after every move and is restored when you reload, including a finished game. Your settings and scores are also kept. The hint, cursor position and ghost stone are not saved.
Can I play gomoku with a friend online?
No. There is no online multiplayer. The 2 players option lets two people take turns in the same browser.
Does gomoku online have a timer?
No. There is no clock or time limit, so you can take as long as you need on each move.
Can I take back a move?
Yes. Against the computer, Undo takes back your last move and the computer’s reply. In 2 players mode, it takes back one move. There is no redo.
More games
- Tic Tac Toe: use it for a quicker grid game where you also try to get three in a line.
- Reversi: use it if you want another two-player board game where you place pieces on a grid to outmanoeuvre your opponent.
- Dots and Boxes: use it for a pencil-and-paper style game of drawing lines and claiming boxes.
- Chinese Checkers: use it for a star-shaped board game of moving pieces across to the other side.
- Backgammon: use it for a race game with dice and moving pieces around a board.
- Mancala: use it for a counting game where you sow stones around pits.
- Sea Battle: use it for a guessing game where you try to find and sink your opponent’s ships.
- Four in a Row: drop discs into columns and line up four before your opponent.