How to play gomoku
- Black moves first. Players take turns placing a stone on an empty point of the 15×15 grid. Black starts; stones never move once placed.
- Preview, then confirm on touch screens. Tap a point to see a see-through stone with guide lines, then tap the same point again (or press Place) to play it. Tap somewhere else to change your mind.
- Five in a row wins. Get five (or more) of your stones in an unbroken line — across, down or diagonally. The winning line is highlighted.
- Undo and new game. In 2-player mode Undo takes back one stone; against the computer it takes you back to before your last move. A full board with no five is a draw.
Shapes to know: open three, four, open four
- Open three — three stones in a line (or with one gap) and free space at both ends. Ignore it and it becomes an open four, so it must be answered.
- Four — one move from five, with only one winning point. It forces an immediate block, which makes it a great tempo move.
- Open four — two winning points at once. Your opponent can block only one: the game is won.
Gomoku strategy: check threats in order
- Every move, check in this order: 1) can I make five? 2) does my opponent have a four to block? 3) can I make an open four? 4) does my opponent have an open three? Our Normal computer thinks in exactly this order.
- Build forks. A four-three (one stone creating a four and an open three) or a double three wins: blocking one threat leaves the other.
- Use fours to gain tempo. If your opponent has an open three and you can make a four, do it — they must block your four first, giving you an extra move.
- Where to block an open three. Block a solid three at one of its ends; block a split three in the gap, which breaks both sides.
- Stay near the centre. Central stones can grow in all eight directions; edge stones can’t. Black has the first-move advantage, so as White focus on defence early.
How strong is the computer?
We played 40 games between our Normal and Easy levels with a fixed random seed, swapping colours each game. Normal won 40 — 20 as Black and 20 as White — and games lasted 19 moves on average. Easy only looks at rough shapes and sometimes misses a four, which suits beginners and kids; Normal always blocks fours and open threes, so beating it takes a four-three or double-three fork.
More two-player games
Want another game for two on one device? Try dots and boxes, or the three-lane duel Block Battle, which also supports invite links. For solo puzzles, play peg solitaire or the Tower of Hanoi. Chinese speakers can use the 五子棋 page, which shares the same saved game.