Hi,

In gomoku the beginner has a clear advantage, even if his chances are decreased by the opening rules that are used here.

The outcome of the tournaments therefore is largely influenced by who begins against whom how many times.

To alleviate this problem I have several suggestions.

1, odd number 3 or 5 of participants in gomku tournaments (This assures that every participant has the initiative the same number of times.

2, paired games, each player would play against each other one both as the player to move first and second. In this case the number of participants is irrelevant.

3, decreasing the field to 15x15 instead of 19x19 would inrease the likelyhood of white win.

4, forbidding overline, that is a 6 or more in a row would not win either for black or both sides(Pro-gomoku rule)

Xespok

At IYT Go-Moku is overline ignored. But at Renju overline make black to lose and white to win. Am I right?

I think better than think out new go-moku rules would be to implement two version of game - simple (i.e. existing gomoku) and profi (i.e. using complete Renju rules)

Pro-gomuku differs from ordinary gomoku by three major criteria

In pro-gomoku overline is prohibbited for both players.

In pro-gomuku there are restricitions for black for placing the second stone. (The restrictions are a little bit less severe that those used here, but I like these rules.)

The table is 15x15 instead of the larger 19x19 traditional go table.

Renju is even stricter

Forbidden moves: apply to black only. All 3x3, 4x4 forks as well as overline are forbidden, e.g. if you move to these fields with black, you lose. This adds an interesting hue to the game and makes it a LOT more complicated than even Pro-Gomoku.

Opening: There are 26 standard opening, and only a handful of them are being used. Black determines the opening and white has the right to swap colours. This ensures that openings with 50-50% chance are chosen by the first player. Black has to propose two 5th move and white can chose any of these to make the game even more poised.

Renju is a tough game, and one has to be very good in gomoku to be even a mediocre player in Renju.

Xespok

The way gom

Renju may be tough but some people prefer games with simple rules like gomoku or hex.

Pandelis

Hello. There is a game called 5's that i play .almost like renju . there are two versions. one is started and played like go.moku .EXCEPT (a)

2open 3's is a half point(b)

you cannot “win” with two open threes.(only end the game)(c)You must play “AWAY” after making two open threes.(allowing other player to block once first.) (d)

you must win with closed4 open 3 or better. or a full point. this is a small handi cap you determine at the start. a two point win would be a way for a really good player to practise with a beginner you may give handi cap up to two and a half. the board is go + size 21x21.

the second version is called “Wyde”

it starts like renju swaping seats

all same rules as previous games except no over line and

o-o-o-o-o where o places stone at 0-0x0-0 immediately loses game for o. this is THE illeagle 2 open 3 formation

cannot even use as block.

also you can pass a turn twice in a row the reason is this the game doesnt end if you fill the board.you start on fresh board and it definitely helps to play the first stone if you are playing the first to 2 points and you have already got a point and a half. plus you can prevent over lines by passing.i think the game is fair to renju players as it is a challange and pro gomoku players can offer one additional handicap to a beginner called “ONE STONE” at any point in the game if it is equal they can change seats except on the second board. it is a sente change.

I love he way gomoku is played here, and it should remain. Any variation is welcome, but then rather Pente or Keryo (2 or 3 stones can be trapped).

In pro gomoku the overline is not prohibited but only doesn't count as a win.

What I find a little awkward here, however, is a strange-shaped central prohibited zone for second black's move. I think it would be much better to have such a zone shorter on orthogonal directions and wider elsewhere, that is I propose to make central 7x7 square prohibited for second black's move. That, along with smaller 15x15 board and ignoring overlines would make this game much more interesting and challenging. Ideally, I would love to see a swap version here such as introduced not long ago on brainking.