Online Go · Baduk · Weiqi

Play Go Online — Fast, and Against Real Players

Master the ancient game of strategy on a modern board. Challenge opponents in real time, spectate live games, review your moves afterward, and track your Go Arena rating — all in your browser, with no download required.

Why Players Choose Go Arena

A focused online Go platform. Jump in from desktop or mobile web and start playing in seconds.

Play In Your Browser

No install required. Start as a guest with a username, or sign up to save your rank across devices.
Quick Match

Queue by board size and clock. Match near your rank by default, or allow a wider search. Handicap stones apply only when the skill gap is large.
Live Spectating

Watch ongoing matches move by move. See who’s playing, board size, and elapsed time before you join.
Go Rank & Record

19×19 games update your kyu/dan rank. 9×9 and 13×13 games still track wins and losses.
Full Board Sizes

Play on 9×9, 13×13, or 19×19 boards with standard komi and area scoring.
Byo-yomi Clocks

Real-time main time and byo-yomi periods keep games moving at the pace you choose.

For Every Level

New To Go?

Start on a 9×9 board with generous time settings. Learn capture, territory, and shape by playing real games — then move up to larger boards when you’re ready.

Improving Your Rank?

Queue Quick Match with different time controls, face players near your strength, and use post-game review to step through every move after the match.

Experienced Player?

Queue rated 19×19 Quick Match, export SGF records, and compete for Go Arena rating against players online right now.

What’s Included Today

Real-time multiplayer with low-latency move updates
Pass, resign, and undo requests during live games
Post-game move review and SGF export
Automatic handicap matching when ranks differ
Area scoring with positional superko
Live game and player counts on Play and Watch

Ready To Play Go Online?

The world’s deepest strategy game is one click away.

Guest play • Optional account to save your rank • 9×9, 13×13, and 19×19 boards

Player Match Settings

Main Periods Length

Turn on to match with players near your rank or turn off to widen the search. Handicap stones apply when the skill gap is large.

0 Games Live • 0 Players Online

Player

Beginner’s guide

How to Play Go

Go is one of the world’s oldest strategy games. Two players place black and white stones on a grid, surround territory, and capture opponent stones. This guide covers everything you need for your first 9×9 game.

What Is Go?

Discover the basics and history of one of the world’s oldest strategy games.

Go is an ancient board game believed to have originated in China more than 2,500 years ago. While its exact origins are unknown, historical records and archaeological evidence show that it has been played for thousands of years. The game later became deeply rooted in Korean and Japanese culture and is now played around the world. It is known as Go in English-speaking countries, Weiqi in China, Baduk in Korea, and Igo in Japan.

Two players take turns placing black and white stones on the intersections of a lined board. Once placed, stones remain on the board unless they are captured. The goal is to surround more territory than your opponent.

Black plays first, and beginners often start on a 9×9 board before moving to larger 13×13 and 19×19 boards.

How Scoring Works

Learn how points are counted and how the winner is decided.

Go Arena uses Chinese area scoring, where your score comes from the territory you surround and the stones you have on the board. Komi gives White bonus points (usually 5.5 or 6.5 in even games) to balance Black’s first-move advantage.

When both players pass, the game ends and the board is scored. You can review every move afterward on Go Arena.

Liberties

Learn how stones connect and interact on the board.

A liberty is an empty point directly next to a stone (up, down, left, or right). Stones that are connected together form a group, and connected stones share their liberties.

A stone with empty points on all four sides has four liberties. Stones near the edge have fewer liberties, and stones in the corner have only two. Connecting stones together allows them to share liberties and can make groups harder to surround and capture.

Captures

Learn how stones are surrounded and removed from the board.

A capture can remove a single stone or an entire connected group. In Go, stones are captured when they have no remaining liberties. To capture your opponent’s stones, surround them and fill their last empty liberty.

Capturing nearby enemy stones can also help protect your own groups by creating more space.

Captured stones are removed immediately and count toward your score.

Life & Death

Learn how groups survive and when they can be captured.

A group of stones needs a safe shape to survive. A group with two eyes—two separate empty spaces completely surrounded by that group—cannot be captured because the opponent cannot fill both spaces.

Groups without two eyes may still be vulnerable, even if they are surrounded. Learning to recognize which groups are alive or dead is a key part of Go strategy.

Special Rules

Learn the rules that handle unusual situations during play.

Ko prevents the board from repeating the same position by stopping an immediate recapture. You must play elsewhere before returning to the capture.

Suicide means you cannot place a stone where it has no liberties unless the move captures opposing stones and creates liberties.

When there are no useful moves left, players pass. Two consecutive passes end the game and scoring begins.

Game Timer

Learn how the game clock works during a match.

Each player starts with main time, a bank of thinking time for the game. When it runs out, byo-yomi begins.

Byo-yomi is overtime made up of a set number of periods, each with a short countdown (for example, 30 seconds). Play your move before a period ends to keep that period. If you play before the countdown ends, that period is restored for your next move. If time expires, you lose one period. Once all periods are gone, you lose the game on time.

On Go Arena, you can choose your main time and byo-yomi settings before a Quick Match.

Ranks

Learn how Go players measure skill and improvement.

Go players use two types of ranks to show skill: kyu and dan. These ranks represent a player’s strength, from beginners learning the basics to experienced and advanced players.

Kyu ranks use numbers that count down as players become stronger: 20 kyu → 10 kyu → 1 kyu. For example, a 1 kyu player is stronger than a 10 kyu player.

Dan ranks represent stronger levels of play. Dan numbers increase as players become stronger: 1 dan → 2 dan → 3 dan and beyond. For example, a 3 dan player is stronger than a 1 dan player.

Go Arena uses a Glicko-2 rating for your public kyu/dan rank. Only rated 19×19 games update that account rank. 9×9 and 13×13 games are casual for ranking; they still count toward your win–loss record.

Create an account to save your rank across devices, keep your game history, and view your wins and losses.

Tips For Beginners

Start on a 9×9 board — games finish in minutes but still teach real strategy.

Corners First

Corners are easiest to surround with two edges helping you. Then consider sides, then the center.
Stay Connected

Loose, scattered stones are easy targets. Link your stones into solid groups with shared liberties.
Don’t Overextend

One-space jumps are safe; long leaps leave cutting points. When unsure, play closer to your own stones.
Look For Cuts

If two enemy stones are not connected, a stone between them can threaten both. Don’t chase groups that already have two eyes.
Finish The Game

When the board looks settled, pass. Review afterward on Go Arena to see where you gained or lost territory.
Play Often

Ten quick 9×9 games teach more than reading ten articles. Play often and your rank will reflect real improvement.

Lessons

Thirteen illustrated lessons that build from the board itself through capture, life and death, scoring, handicaps, and common shapes. Study each diagram carefully—many plates show several related positions at once.

The board and star points

Capturing stones

Eyes and false eyes

Shrinking a large group

Safe shapes and five spaces

Ko and seki

Large seki

Dame and the finished board

Counting after dead stones

Spotting life and death

Reconstructing the score

Handicap stones

Common shapes and approaches

Ready To Play Go Online?

The world’s deepest strategy game is one click away.

No registration required • Play in your browser • 9×9, 13×13, and 19×19 boards

Choose your course

Go Puzzles

Sharpen your Go skills with carefully designed puzzles that challenge your reading, strategy, and tactical understanding. Explore classic Go problems—from life and death and capturing races to tesuji. Solve positions, discover stronger moves, and develop the intuition needed to play with confidence.

Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 16, 2026

Welcome to Go Arena (goarena.games), an online platform for playing the game of Go. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your information when you use our website and services (collectively, the “Services”).

By using the Services, you agree to the practices described in this Policy. Please also read our Terms of Service.

Summary of key points

You should read this Policy in full, but here are the essentials:

No account required to play.
Guest play stores almost everything locally in your browser.
Optional accounts let you save progress across devices.
Signed-in sessions use an essential first-party cookie (not for advertising) plus browser storage so you stay signed in.
You can delete most local data anytime by clearing your browser data for this site.
We use Google Analytics 4 for aggregated site usage (for example, page views). We configure it to avoid collecting account emails, passwords, or other obvious personal identifiers in analytics events.
Advertising may appear on the Services. Ads may use cookies or similar technologies from Google and other partners. In the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, a consent message may appear before non-essential advertising or analytics cookies are used.

1. Information We Collect

A. Information from All Users (Including Guests)

Username you choose when playing.
Gameplay data — moves, results, board size, timers, ratings (Go Arena rating/kyu/dan), and game records (temporary).
Technical & usage data — IP addresses (processed by our hosting provider), request logs, error reports, device type, and connection metadata.
Local storage data — username, reconnect token, sound preferences, quick-match settings, puzzle progress (device-only for guests).
First-party operational metrics — privacy-preserving, non-identifying beacons we collect on our own servers for reliability and performance monitoring (separate from Google Analytics).

B. Information from Optional Accounts

Email address and hashed password.
Username linked to your account, which you may update in Account settings.
Account-linked gameplay history, ratings, and related progress (such as puzzle progress when signed in).
Session identifiers used to keep you signed in (see Section 4).
Email-change confirmation data when you request a new email address.

C. Contact Form & Support

Name, email, and message content you voluntarily submit.

D. Site analytics (Google Analytics 4)

When Google Analytics 4 (“GA4”) is enabled on the Services, Google may collect or receive device and usage information on our behalf as an independent controller or processor under Google’s terms, including approximate location derived from IP, browser/device type, referring site, and pages or screens viewed on goarena.games. We use GA4 for aggregated measurement of how the Services are used (for example, traffic and navigation patterns).

We design our GA4 implementation to send path-level page information without query strings or in-game identifiers that could function as personal identifiers, and we do not intentionally send account email addresses, passwords, or precise geolocation to GA4. You must not enter personal information into URLs or other fields in a way that would cause it to be transmitted to analytics systems.

E. Advertising partners

When ads are shown, Google (including Google AdSense) and related advertising partners may collect or receive device and usage information, such as IP address, cookie identifiers, approximate location derived from IP, browser/device type, pages viewed, and ad interaction data, under their own policies.

We do not collect precise geolocation, biometric data, or government IDs.

2. How We Use Information

We use the collected information to:

Provide and improve the multiplayer Go experience (matchmaking, spectating, reconnects, ratings).
Maintain leaderboards and ranked Quick Match.
Prevent abuse and cheating.
Respond to support requests.
Send account-related emails (verification, password reset, email-change confirmation).
Maintain signed-in sessions and show account-specific navigation after you log in.
Understand site usage and platform performance through first-party operational metrics and Google Analytics 4 (aggregated).
Display, measure, and improve advertising where enabled.
Comply with legal obligations.

We do not sell personal information. We may display third-party advertising (including Google AdSense) to help fund access to the Services. Ad partners may use cookies or similar technologies to serve and measure ads, including personalized ads where permitted by law and your settings. We do not use your optional account email or password for advertising or for Google Analytics measurement.

3. How We Share or Disclose Information

We share data only in these limited cases:

With service providers (see Section 7).
With Google for Google Analytics 4 site measurement, as described in Sections 1 and 4 and Google’s privacy policy.
With advertising partners (including Google) to display, measure, and improve ads on the Services, as described in Section 4 and their privacy policies.
To comply with law, court orders, or government requests.
To protect the safety, rights, and security of Go Arena, our users, or the public.
In the event of a business transfer (merger, acquisition, etc.), with appropriate protections.

We do not sell personal information.

4. Cookies, Local Storage & Tracking

Essential first-party session cookie (accounts): When you create a verified account and sign in, we set an HttpOnly first-party session cookie (for example, go_arena_sid). This cookie stores a session token so we can recognize your signed-in browser on later visits, keep you logged in, and show the correct Account navigation on first page load. It is not used for advertising or third-party tracking. The cookie is set with security attributes appropriate to our hosting environment (including HttpOnly; Secure in production; SameSite restrictions). It typically lasts for an extended period (on the order of many months) unless you sign out, deactivate your account, or clear site cookies.

Browser local storage (guests and accounts): We also use browser local storage (or, in some local-development modes, session storage) for essential gameplay functionality. This may include username, a reconnect/player token used for live games and some account API calls, sound preference, quick-match settings, and puzzle progress. Guest play works without the session cookie.

Site analytics (Google Analytics 4): When enabled, GA4 and related Google tags may set or read cookies and similar technologies (or use local storage / similar mechanisms) to measure visits and page views on the Services. These technologies are used for analytics, not to provide your core gameplay session. Google’s collection and use of information is described in Google’s privacy policy and partner-site disclosures.

Advertising cookies and similar technologies: Google AdSense and related partners may set or read cookies and use similar technologies on your device to serve ads, limit how often you see an ad, measure ad performance, and (where allowed) personalize ads based on your activity on this site and/or across other sites and apps that participate in those partners’ networks.

Consent in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland: Where required by law, we may present a Google-certified consent management message that lets you consent, refuse, or manage options for non-essential advertising and/or analytics technologies. Until you provide required consent in those regions, we configure Google tags so that non-essential advertising and analytics storage remain restricted. Outside those regions, analytics measurement may operate under this Policy without a separate consent banner, subject to applicable law.

Google ad settings: https://adssettings.google.com
How Google uses information from sites that use its services: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites
Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

You may block or delete cookies through your browser settings. Clearing our first-party session cookie or local storage will sign you out of the account session in that browser (or reset guest reconnect data). Blocking advertising or analytics cookies may reduce personalization or measurement, but core gameplay may continue and ads may still appear in a non-personalized form where permitted.

We may use Cloudflare Turnstile for bot protection on the contact form.

5. Data Retention

Temporary game records: deleted after a short period (typically ~30 minutes).
Ratings and account data: kept while the account is active.
Account deactivation: When you request deactivation, your account is hidden immediately. If you do not reactivate by logging in within 30 days, your account and associated personal data will be permanently deleted. We may retain anonymized or aggregated data for analytics, as well as limited records required by law (for example fraud prevention). These retained items cannot restore your personal account.
Session cookie: remains until it expires, you sign out, you deactivate your account, or you clear site cookies.
Local storage: remains on your device until you clear it.
Contact messages: retained only as long as needed to respond.
Google Analytics and advertising data: retained by Google under Google’s retention settings and policies for those products.

6. Security

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards consistent with industry standards and New York’s SHIELD Act. This includes encryption in transit (HTTPS), hashed passwords, HttpOnly session cookies for signed-in browsers, and access controls. However, no system is 100% secure. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential and for activity on your account.

7. Third-Party Service Providers

Hosting: Render + PostgreSQL
Bot protection: Cloudflare
Fonts: Google Fonts / Adobe Fonts
Email delivery: SMTP provider
Site analytics: Google Analytics 4
Advertising: Google AdSense (and related Google advertising / measurement services)

All providers are contractually obligated to protect your data, or process data under their own published policies where they act as independent controllers (for example, Google for Analytics and advertising).

8. Children’s Privacy

Our Services are not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected such data, we will take steps to delete it.

9. Your Rights & Choices

Local data: Clear site data in your browser at any time.
Signed-in session: Use Sign Out in Account to end your session in that browser (clears our session cookie). Clearing site cookies has a similar effect for the first-party session cookie.
Account data: When signed in, use Deactivate Account in Account to hide your account (reactivate by logging in within 30 days; see Section 5), or contact us to request deletion or correction. You may also update username, email (with confirmation), and password from Account where available.
Analytics & ads: Use browser controls to block third-party cookies; where shown, use our consent message to manage or refuse non-essential cookies in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland; and use Google’s ad settings tools where available. Clearing site data removes our local storage items and first-party session cookie but may not remove third-party cookies set by Google or other partners on their domains.
Residents of certain states (including California) may have additional rights to access, delete, or opt out of the sale/sharing of personal information. We respond to verifiable requests promptly.

10. International Users

Your data is processed in the United States (and may be processed by Google and other providers in the United States and other countries where they operate). By using the Services, you acknowledge these transfers. Where required (including in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland), we rely on consent and/or other lawful bases and consent tooling described in Section 4 for non-essential cookies and similar technologies.

11. Changes to This Policy

We will post the revised Policy with an updated “Last updated” date.

12. Contact Us

For privacy questions, data requests, or concerns, please use our contact form on the website: https://goarena.games

Terms of Service

Last updated: July 15, 2026

Welcome to Go Arena (goarena.games), an online platform for playing the game of Go. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of our website, services, and features (collectively, the “Services”).

By using the Services, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Services. Please also review our Privacy Policy.

Summary of key points

You should read these Terms and our Privacy Policy in full, but here are the essentials:

Guest play — No account required for basic play.
Optional accounts — Sign up, sign in, manage profile settings, and sign out from Account.
Ads and site analytics may be used to support and improve the Services (including Google AdSense and Google Analytics 4), as described in our Privacy Policy. Consent tools may apply in certain regions.
Be respectful — No cheating, harassment, or abuse.
Your content — Game records are public while active.
We are not liable for losses from gameplay or technical issues (standard limitation).

1. Eligibility & Accounts

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Services. If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you may only use the Services with the consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian.

Guest Play: Available without an account using only a chosen username.
Optional Accounts: Allow you to save ratings, game history, and progress across devices. Creating an account typically requires a valid email address, a password, and email verification. You are responsible for keeping your credentials secure and for activity under your account.
Account settings: When signed in, you may access Account to update username, email (subject to confirmation), or password where available, and to sign out or deactivate your account (with a reactivation window described in the Privacy Policy).
Sessions: Signing in establishes a browser session (including an essential first-party session cookie and related browser storage, as described in our Privacy Policy). You should use Sign Out on shared devices. We may expire, revoke, or refresh sessions for security or operational reasons.

2. User Conduct & Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

Cheat, use bots, scripts, or unauthorized automation.
Harass, threaten, bully, or abuse other players.
Impersonate others or create multiple accounts to manipulate rankings.
Attempt to hack, reverse engineer, or interfere with the Services.
Use the Services for illegal purposes.

We reserve the right to suspend or permanently ban accounts that violate these rules.

3. Intellectual Property

The platform, design, logos, and code are owned by us. By playing, you grant us a royalty-free license to host, display, and use your gameplay (moves, games, usernames) for operating and promoting the Services.

4. Advertising & Analytics

The Services may display third-party advertisements, including ads served by Google AdSense or similar partners.

Ads help support access to core gameplay and related features. Advertising does not change game rules, ratings integrity, or matchmaking fairness.

We may also use site analytics tools, including Google Analytics 4, to understand aggregated usage of the Services (for example, which pages are visited). Analytics does not change gameplay rules or ratings integrity.

Third-party advertisers, ad networks, and analytics providers may use cookies or similar technologies as described in our Privacy Policy. Their collection and use of information is governed by their own policies. In the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, a consent message may be required before certain non-essential technologies are used.

We do not control the content of every third-party ad. If you believe an ad is inappropriate, contact us via the contact form.

We may change, limit, or remove advertising or analytics tooling at any time.

5. Disclaimers

The Services are provided “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” without any warranties. We do not guarantee uninterrupted service, absence of bugs, or that the Services will meet all your expectations. This includes no warranty regarding third-party advertising or analytics content, availability, targeting, or measurement.

6. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages. Our total liability shall not exceed the amount you have paid us (if any) in the twelve (12) months before the claim.

7. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from claims arising from your violation of these Terms, your conduct toward other players, or any content you submit.

8. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including violation of these Terms. You may stop using the Services at any time. You may deactivate your optional account when signed in via Account. Deactivation hides the account immediately; if you do not log in again within 30 days, the account and associated personal data are permanently deleted as described in the Privacy Policy. Guest play may still be available.

9. Changes to These Terms

We may update or modify these Terms from time to time. We will post the revised Terms with a new “Last updated” date. Your continued use of the Services after the changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

10. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict of laws principles. Any disputes shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in New York.

11. Miscellaneous

Invalid provisions will not affect the rest of the Terms.
Our failure to enforce a right does not waive it.
These Terms represent the entire agreement between you and us.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us via the contact form on the website:
https://goarena.games

Your Account

Member since

Statistics

—

Rank

0 - 0

Win - Loss

Total games Played

Total Puzzles solved

Username

Password

Why Players Choose Go Arena

Play In Your Browser

Quick Match

Live Spectating

Go Rank & Record

Full Board Sizes

Byo-yomi Clocks

For Every Level

New To Go?

Improving Your Rank?

Experienced Player?

What’s Included Today

Ready To Play Go Online?

Player Match Settings

What Is Go?

How Scoring Works

Liberties

Captures

Life & Death

Special Rules

Game Timer

Ranks

Tips For Beginners

Corners First

Stay Connected

Don’t Overextend

Look For Cuts

Finish The Game

Play Often

Lessons

Ready To Play Go Online?

Puzzle courses

Tsumego (Life and Death)

Tesuji (Tactical Moves)

Top 50 Players

Summary of key points

1. Information We Collect

2. How We Use Information

3. How We Share or Disclose Information

4. Cookies, Local Storage & Tracking

5. Data Retention

6. Security

7. Third-Party Service Providers

8. Children’s Privacy

9. Your Rights & Choices

10. International Users

11. Changes to This Policy

12. Contact Us

Summary of key points

1. Eligibility & Accounts

2. User Conduct & Acceptable Use

3. Intellectual Property

4. Advertising & Analytics

5. Disclaimers

6. Limitation of Liability

7. Indemnification

8. Termination

9. Changes to These Terms

10. Governing Law

11. Miscellaneous

12. Contact Us

Statistics

Deactivate Account