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Friendly cartoon kids playing Go (weiqi) at a warm wooden board with black and white stones and bowls of stones in a cozy sunlit room
Tap the board to play a 9×9 game →

StoneSong

Go looks simple — black and white stones on a grid — but every shape is a story. Learn how groups live, how a ladder runs to the edge, and how territory and influence balance.

Play a friend Learn to play
Level 1

Start here

Play a Friend Pass-and-play go on one device — place stones, capture, and balance territory, face to face. Learn to Play The whole game from the start — liberties, capture, two eyes to live, and how territory is counted. Life & Death Read a corner — can this group make two eyes and live, or is it already dead? Reading is the skill. Shape Drills Short drills on the basic shapes — the ladder, the net, and the eye that keeps a group alive.
Brain Break Take a quiet moment between games — a fun riddle or a short breather. Brain breaks help you remember what you learn.

All activities

Play & learn

Play a Friend (pass-and-play) Two players share one device and take turns on the board — place stones, capture, and balance territory, face to face. Play a Friend (room code) Share a room code and play a friend on the same board — a quick networked match. Learn to Play The whole game from the start — liberties, capture, the two eyes a group needs to live, and how territory is counted. Capture Go (first capture wins) The quickest way to learn Go — the first player to capture a stone wins, on a small 7×7 board. Perfect for a first game. Go on 13×13 The classic step up from 9×9 — a bigger 13×13 board with more room for real territory and fighting. Same rules, same friendly opponent. Board Studio A free board to set up a position and try ideas — no clock, no score, just the stones. My Games Every game you play against the computer is saved on this device — replay it move by move and see how the territory took shape. Nothing that names you leaves the device.

Sharpen your reading

Life & Death Read a corner — can this group make two eyes and live, or is it already dead? Reading is the whole skill. Shape Drills Short drills on the basic shapes — the ladder that chases a stone to the edge, the net, and the living eye. Pattern Trainer Learn the recurring shapes — the joseki corners and tesuji moves that come up again and again. Endgame Trainer The endgame where a point or two decides the whole board — take the biggest move first. Predict the Move Call the best move — or whether a group lives — BEFORE the reveal, then find out why. A guess is the point.

Practice & together

Mixed Practice A short round across the kits you have played — brought back to make it stick. Reading Rush A calm minute on life-and-death you already know — the clock counts up, stop whenever you like, no penalty for a miss. Quick round — a calm sprint Quick recall of kits you have mastered. Self-paced; turn on a timer only if you want one. Trick Questions Brain-teasers with a twist — spot why the obvious move is a trap. Teach the Cast Teach a go idea to a cast member still learning it — teaching makes it stick. Stone Duel (hotseat) 2–4 players take turns on one device — same questions for everyone, highest first-try score wins. Stone Quest — the map A progression trail through every kit. Clear each stop of real practice, then move on. Progress Your levels, days active, and how each skill area is coming along — saved on this device.
Concept Kits — 16 kits of go strategy

A short round of questions with a hint whenever you get stuck. Progress stays on this device.

Kit 1: The Board & Basics The Board & Basics · grades gr4-5 · 25 questions Kit 2: Liberties & Capture Liberties & Capture · grades gr4-5 · 25 questions Kit 3: Connecting & Cutting Connecting & Cutting · grades gr4-5 · 25 questions Kit 4: Eyes & Life Eyes & Life · grades gr5-6 · 25 questions Kit 5: Life & Death Life & Death · grades gr6-7 · 25 questions Kit 6: Territory Territory · grades gr5-6 · 25 questions Kit 7: Ko & Repetition Ko & Repetition · grades gr6-7 · 25 questions Kit 8: The Opening (Fuseki) The Opening (Fuseki) · grades gr6-7 · 25 questions Kit 9: Influence vs Territory Influence vs Territory · grades gr7-8 · 25 questions Kit 10: Good Shape Good Shape · grades gr7-8 · 25 questions Kit 11: Ladders & Nets Ladders & Nets · grades gr7-8 · 25 questions Kit 12: The Endgame (Yose) The Endgame (Yose) · grades gr7-8 · 25 questions Kit 13: Handicaps & Komi Handicaps & Komi · grades gr7-8 · 25 questions Kit 14: Etiquette & the Spirit of Go Etiquette & the Spirit of Go · grades gr7-8 · 25 questions Kit 15: Reading & Common Mistakes Reading & Common Mistakes · grades gr7-8 · 25 questions Kit 16: Putting It Together Putting It Together · grades gr7-8 · 25 questions

More ways to play

Daily Puzzle Breathing spaces Count the Score
Where this game comes from

Go

Go comes from China and is more than 2,000 years old. Chinese writings from about the 4th century BCE already mention it. It reached Korea and Japan, where it became a serious art.

One thing to hold: Old boards are made of golden kaya wood, with black stones of slate and white stones of clamshell.

Why it matters: A Chinese scholar was expected to master four arts: music on the zither, Go, calligraphy and painting. Go was counted as an art, not just a game.

What we don’t know: Its true beginning is lost; the stories about who invented it are legends.

The game’s own words:

  • Your opponent’s key point is your key point. Where would the other player most like to play next? What happens if you play there first? (Kensaku Segoe, Go Proverbs Illustrated (Nihon Ki-in, 1960))

Its names:

  • 围棋 weiqi in Chinese
  • 囲碁 igo in Japanese
  • 바둑 baduk in Korean

Sources: H. J. R. Murray, A History of Board-Games other than Chess (1952) · R. C. Bell, Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations (1960; rev. 1979)

StoneSong mascot

Meet the cast — the characters who teach this

Each one stands for an idea you’ll practice. Tap a character to read their illustrated story and hear their audio drama.

Ensemble stories — the cast together

Explore all the stories →

What next? Pick a door

Chosen from what this app is about. What you open is remembered on this device only.

📚 Books for StoneSong

Read the story, print a workbook, or color the cast — free PDFs to read offline or print at home.

Browse all books →

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