Conference govt02::basingstoke

    I don't, but if you'd like to teach me, I'll give it a go ;-)
    
    I tried to find a board recently but could not find a shop which
    sold them. Any pointers ???
    
    
    
    				Jamie.

    I know that people certainly have to GO after being in the Crescent
    Canteen ;-) x 1000000

    Phil

    I used to know someone who was a go-er. :-)
    
    Graham
    

    I have played GO and have a board & instructions. If you fancy a game
    at lunchtimes give us a call.
    
    For those that don't know the game it is very easy to learn the rules
    but is bloody hard to beat an expert.
    
    martin
    

    
    � For those that don't know the game it is very easy to learn the rules
    � but is bloody hard to beat an expert.
      
    GO players are rated on the same "kyu" (learner) and "dan" (expert)
    system as the martial arts. For players only a moderate number of
    standards apart an appropriate number of stones handicap given
    to the weaker player makes for a quite interesting game: it is one
    of the few board games where a novice can play sensibly against
    an expert.        
    
    /. Ian .\
           
    
    

	Which "GO" are you referring to, 

     1. the board game with black and white reverse coloured "buttons" where
	one attempts to turn over your opponents "buttons" by trapping his
	between two of yours in a straight line; 

	or/

     2. the very complex, not very popular board politics/war game that was
	confusingly called GO as well, that had a 60 to 80 page rules book.

    
    I don't recognise either of the games you describe: GO is a Japanese
    variant of a tactical game that probably originated in China. It
    is played by placing black (or white) 'stones' on the intersections
    of a 19x19 grid. When your stones surround your opponents according
    to a simple definition of "surrounded" (ie every adjacent vertex
    is occuppied by one of your stones and no more than one vertex interior
    to the enemy 'army' is vacant, they are "captured" and removed. You
    may play anywhere on the board, except you may not commit suicide.
    There are a couple of other minor rules, and you score at the end
    by counting up who controls the most territory.
    
    ie the rules are very simple. The strategy however is horrendously
    complex: the game is mathematically much more complex than chess,
    and a vast number of books have been written on the subject.
                                                      
    /. Ian .\
    

      >  the board game with black and white reverse coloured "buttons" where
      >	one attempts to turn over your opponents "buttons" by trapping his
      >	between two of yours in a straight line; 
    
    I always thought that was called 'Othello' 
    
    						Karen   

re< Note 143.8 by YARD::BIRCH "Summer's here" >

>    I always thought that was called 'Othello' 

    It is now, but it used to be called Reversi (and still is by many
    games players, including me).
    
    Go is as Ian described it. As a matter of no interest whatsoever, 
    one of the positions in Go is called 'atari', from where the 
    computer company got its name.

    The second game that Jane mentioned was indeed also called Go; my 
    brother has a set, but I've never actually played the game.

	Andy

>    I always thought that was called 'Othello' 

     Yup, you're right,  I remembered that on the way home, put it down to
     late night confusion !!

>    The second game that Jane mentioned was indeed also called Go; my 
>    brother has a set, but I've never actually played the game.

     Neither have I, it was far too complicated.

     Jane.


     PS  I cann't play GO, but I can play Othello ;^}

    
    There is also a game called "Go-moko" (I think) played on a Go board,
    where each player tries to put 5 of his (or her) own stones in a
    line - like a bigger better version of 'oxo' ...
    
    Incidentally beginning Go players are advised to play on a quarter
    board... 
    
    I have heard [rumours] of a computer version of Go used as a DECwindows
    demo. I'll see if I can track it down...
    
    /. Ian .\

    
    
    The game on Decwindows is called Reversi....
    
    This is getting VERY confusing 

    Just a quick point.
    
    Othello is *not* the same as Reversi.
    
    The difference ?
    
    In 1881, Othello was invented in England.
    
    In 19XX a Japanese geezer whose name I do not recall at the moment
    but will check it out if anyone's REALLY interested introduced a
    new rule to REVERSI.
    
    In reversi, the game started on an *empty* board and the first four
    moves of the game had to be made on the centre four squares. If
    you think about it, this actually meant that there were TWO possible
    starting positions once these four squares had been occupied :
    
    XO      XX
    OX  or  OO

    
    After some years of quibbling about which was the best position
    to start from, experts came to the conclusion that the first postion
    was preferable. An equivalent could be drawn here to Draughts where
    there is a definitely favourable opening move.

    
    So, our enterprising Japanese geezer decided to change the rules
    so that the game started in the first position to save the hassle
    of players having to make the moves. He called this version of the
    game OTHELLO.
    
    I believe that OTHELLO was copyrighted by some games company.
    
    Strange really; I wonder if I could invent a new form of chess called
    truss in which the white kings pawn is two moves forward and black
    starts the game and then copyright it ???!!!
    

    BTW, if anyone in the crescent wants a game of Othello sometime,
    I've got a good two player version on the system ... give me a shout!
        
    
    				Jamie.

re < Note 143.13 by YARD::BADMAN "Nipple end in tears ..." >
    
>    In 1881, Othello was invented in England.
        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    
>    In 19XX a Japanese geezer whose name I do not recall at the moment
        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>    but will check it out if anyone's REALLY interested introduced a
>    new rule to REVERSI.
                 ^^^^^^^
        
>    So, our enterprising Japanese geezer decided to change the rules
                          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>    so that the game started in the first position to save the hassle
>    of players having to make the moves. He called this version of the
>    game OTHELLO.
          ^^^^^^^
    
    Could you clarify this please Jamie? I always thought that Reversi
    came first.
    
    	Andy

    Whoops. For my first reference to the game, change Othello to Reversi.
    
    
    
    
    				Jamie.

    Of even less interest, I think the other game of Go ( i.e. the
    Waddingtons type board game ) was a Travel game, where you had to
    whizz round the world by different means and see lots of different
    sights. Terribly Dull.
    
    I used to play Go ( the Japanese one ) in a Pub. None of us had
    a clue about anything except the rules, so sometimes the games
    used to go ( excuse the pun ) on for ages. I never won because I
    took the drinking ( it was a Greene King/Adnams pub ) more seriously
    than the game.
    
    I took up Darts instead.
    
    Chris
    

    I prefer Cluedo.
    
    Regards
    
    Miss Scarlett