Go originated in China more than 4000 years ago. But it was the Japanese who perfected it and made Go a great strategic skill game. For thousands of years everyone from the working classes to royalty played Go, making it the national pastime. The popularity of Go has now reached the West bringing with it
Go originated in China more than 4000 years ago. But it was the Japanese who perfected it and made Go a great strategic skill game. For thousands of years everyone from the working classes to royalty played Go, making it the national pastime. The popularity of Go has now reached the West bringing with it an air of Oriental wisdom and mystery!
The Object of Go is to gain control of territories and capture enemy stones.Go is probably one of the world’s most intimidating games, one which conjures up images of players gleefully setting out for blood as they devise militaristic board moves. This complex exercise in strategy originated some 4,000 years ago in the East and has no direct Western counterpart. The game’s playing surface is divided into 361 intersections. Players place stones on the corners of the squares, and the object is to surround the stones of their opponents. This edition’s wooden game board is heavy, durable, and has an elegant blond veneer. The plastic stones are less impressive. The set comes with a first-rate rule book: filled with diagrams, examples, and a useful recap section midway through the instructions, it’ll make any novice good to Go. –Tony Mason
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Effective for beginners This is one of the few Go sets that reaches into ‘reasonably priced’ territory. One could easily spend a small fortune on a set. This one is very fairly priced, comes with a pretty solid wooden board and nice fascimile playing pieces. Anyone looking to get into Go would benefit from buying this inexpensive set.The one downside is the lack of adequate containment for the stones. They come in two small plastic bags. You’re going to want some small bowls or sealable containers to hold…
Good game? YES! Good set? Well… that all depends… If you like strategy games, even in a vague, general sense, then Go is a great game. The rules are simple enough for kids to understand, but the strategy CAN be complex enough for people to spend their whole lives working on it. I say CAN be that complex, because it really depends how seriously the players want to take it.If you’re looking for a lifelong hobby, this is the game for you. OR, if you don’t want to take it seriously at all, and don’t really care about deep strategies…