How to play gomoku
Gomoku is five in a row: two players, black and white stones, and a board of lines. Here are the rules, in two minutes and with pictures.
Get five in a row
Place your stones where the lines cross. The first to line up five of their stones in a row, across, down or diagonally, wins the game.
Black starts in the center
Black always moves first, and the first stone goes on the center point. Then the players take turns, one stone each, anywhere on the board.
Block your opponent
Watch your opponent's lines. When they have four in a row with an open end, they win on their next move unless you close it.
Exactly five for Black
White wins with five or more in a row. Black needs exactly five: six or more in a row does not count for Black. This and a few other limits keep the game fair, because Black moves first.
If the board fills up and nobody can make five, the game is a draw.
Ready to play?
That is all you need to start. The game marks the points Black cannot play, so you learn the rest as you go.