Gomoku
Alternate name
Definition
Gomoku, also called go-moku (Japanese for "five points") is a tic-tac-toe-like game in which two players alternately place pieces, with each player using pieces of a fixed color, in an attempt to place five (or more) pieces in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally). The game is traditionally played on a go board of size 19, although 13×13 and 9×9 boards are also common. By convention, play opens with black. In standard gomoku, rows of exactly five piece are required for a win, so if a row longer than five pieces (called an overline) is created, it does not count as a win. In free-style gomoku, overlines also count as wins. On a 15×15 board, black can always win with optimal play in either the standard or free-style variants.
Related terms
