In 2025, Iowa Go Society developed ‘Stones’ as a variant of Go that can be taught, played, and retaught quickly and accurately without lessons, teachers, and troves of additional information to correctly end and determine the winner of the game. The end result is nearly identical, too! There are a few unique situations where Go and Stones can diverge, but for the vast majority of moves and games, the exact same strategies and moves will result in the same winner of both games.
The Rules of STONES
Let’s start with the Core Mechanics…
Turns
Players take Turns placing Stones on empty intersections. Black Goes first.
Connection
Stones connected directly along lines are treated as a Group, as if they were a single stone.
To see it in action, check out the OGS Learn to Play Go Section 2.2
(it refers to Groups as Chains)
This is the same in Stones and Go.
Capture
Stones are captured if they have no open, adjacent intersections next to them (“Liberties”). If multiple stones form a Group, they are captured together. Captured Stones aside as Prisoners – keep count of them!
The person who placed the Stone captures their opponent’s Stones first in the case of a tie.
See OGS Learn to Play Go Sections 2.5-2.7
This is the same in Stones and Go
Illegal Move
Placing a Stone on the board must create a new Board Position. If the resulting Board Position would be identical to a previous one, it cannot be played (Board Position does not include Prisoner counts).
Most Illegal Moves would create an infinite loop
This differs from Go in a few ways, but is very similar to the rule of ‘Ko.’
The Board Position starts on the left. Black captures the white stone on the Right. White cannot play at the square below because it will recreate the Board Position on the left.
Winning the Game
Win by playing a Decisive Move that does both of the following:
(1) Captures 2 or more Prisoners. Single-stone captures cannot be decisive.
(2) Meets or exceeds the Lead Threshold. This is how many more Prisoners you have than your opponent.
The default Lead Threshold on a 9×9 board is 7 Prisoners
A player also wins if their Opponent has no Legal Moves
STOP HERE AND PLAY SOME GAMES!
This all you need to play Stones! There are some additional rules that follow that add balance and complexity but master the basics before you move on!
Compensation
Black has a large advantage by playing first. To offset this, start White with 6 black Prisoners and adjust the Lead Threshold for each player by this amount. For instance, the initial Threshold is 7, White starts with 6, White must reach a 13 Prisoner lead or Black a 1 Prisoner lead. Can also be written: 7 ± 6
6 is proper Compensation for any board size and gives Black and White near even winning chances
Prisoner Return
If a player has more Prisoners than their opponent, they can return a Prisoner to their opponent instead of placing a Stone.
Use this when space is low, you’re ahead, and every move on the board would result in greater loss.
A Prisoner Return counts as a new Board Position.
Group Staking
While a player has only Groups (including individual stones) with 2 or fewer Liberties, they may place a Stone off the board next to one of those Liberties (once for each) instead of placing a Stone on the board. If the Staked Group is captured, these Stones are captured with it.
Staking counts as a new Board Position.
Download the STONES Pamphlet!
For best results, print with No Margins, Both Sides(along short side) and fold into thirds
Moving on to Go!
Stones is a variant of Go that can stand on its own, but it is also a perfect bridge into Go, allowing you to encounter concepts as you naturally progress, but not requiring them from the start. As you play and learn Stones more and more, you will naturally encounter some of the bigger concepts of Go and be ready to apply them.
Follow the link below for interactive Go tutorials when you’re ready to explore further! These include puzzles to nail basic concepts shared by both! And be sure to check out the FAQ page for notes on differences between the Stones and Go where they matter.
Going Further with Go
For in-depth lessons and tools to take your Go playing to the next level, Iowa Go Society, as a part of Midwest Go, have affiliated with Go Magic and can provide new members 50% off any subscription with code MIDWESTGA
Go Magic has videos, puzzles, lesson plans, and much more to take your Go game as far as it can go!
This page is currently under development! Check back for updates
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