ORIGINAL · TWO-PLAYER STRATEGY

Gongqi

Push. Surround. Power Up.

Share push power as captures rise, but race separately to 20. Every move matters—with 4 minutes plus a fresh 30-second byo-yomi on every turn, starting only after confirmation.

1–1 Push5 Combined power up20 Win

GONGQI IN THREE STEPS

Don’t place. Push the position.

Select

Choose any stone—Black or White. The board shows every legal direction and push length.

Push 1 to your power

Power 3 lets you push one, two, or three consecutive stones. Your new stone fills the starting point.

Capture & Share Power

Surround every liberty to capture. Both players gain push power when their combined captures reach the next threshold.

CAPTURE AT A GLANCE

No liberties means capture.

A liberty is an empty intersection immediately above, below, left, or right of a stone. Diagonal points do not count.

READ THIS POSITION

The stone marked “1” takes White’s final liberty.

01
Find the liberties
Only empty intersections directly up, down, left, and right count. White has no empty point on any of those four sides.
02
Close the last liberty
The Black stone marked “1” is the last move. It fills White’s final open adjacent intersection.
03
Remove and score
White now has zero liberties, so remove it from the board. Black gains one capture.

For a connected group: connected stones share their liberties. If the entire group has no liberties, remove every stone in that group.

COMPLETE RULES

Choose 12×12 or the faster 8×8 game.

Both even-sized boards place the four-stone twist exactly at the center. Black moves first, with timing set by the chosen board.

STANDARD12×12

4:00 + 30s each turn · Shared power every 5 combined · Personal win at 20

QUICK8×8

3:00 + 20s each turn · Shared power every 3 combined · Personal win at 12

Starting position

Four adjacent stones begin at the center: Black at the upper-left and lower-right, White at the upper-right and lower-left. Every stone is centered on an intersection.

Select and push

Select any Black or White stone, choose a direction, then choose how many consecutive stones to move. Your new stone fills the selected stone’s original point.

Shared push power is a maximum

Both players share the same power, based on their combined captures. At power 2 either player may push one or two stones; at power 3, one, two, or three. A choice is hidden when its line or endpoint is not legal.

Opening color swap

After Black’s first move, White may keep White and play normally, or exchange colors and take over Black’s position. Choosing the swap uses White’s opening choice; the original Black player then moves as White.

Board edges

Stones can never be pushed off the board. Outward arrows are hidden at an edge, so a corner stone can show at most two directions.

Liberties, capture, and suicide

After a push, remove opposing groups with no liberties, as in Go. Enemy groups are removed before checking your own liberties, so capturing can make an otherwise self-atari move legal. Leaving your own group with no liberty after captures are resolved is illegal.

Clock and winning

The clock stays paused until Start Game. In an online room, both Host and Guest must confirm Ready. On the 12×12 board, each player gets 4 minutes, then a fresh 30-second byo-yomi on every turn; on 8×8, each gets 3 minutes, then a fresh 20-second byo-yomi on every turn. Move within the period and it resets in full on your next turn. Win by reaching the board’s capture goal, by resignation, or on time.

INTERACTIVE TUTORIAL

Practice a push and a capture.

Select any stone.