Mogi › Board games › Gomoku

Gomoku: how to play

Gomoku is the classic five-in-a-row game, played with stones on the lines of a wooden board. Mogi plays the dark stones against a new opponent in every level, each one sharper than the last, on boards that grow from 9×9 to 15×15. Make five in a row across, down or diagonally before they do.

How to play

Take turns placing a stone where two lines cross. Tap a point, or move with the arrow keys and press Enter or Space.
Five of your stones in an unbroken row, across, down or diagonal, wins the game.
You go first in the first game of each level; after that you take turns going first.
Lose and it costs one of your three hearts and you get a rematch. If the board fills up with no winner, the game is a draw and you play again.
Every stone you place scores 2 × the level number, and a win scores 100 × the level number plus 1 for every empty point left.

The five levels

Neon City: vs Bruno on a 9×9 board: five in a row wins
Rooftops: vs Kip on 11×11: block their fours
Sewer: vs Sewer Bot on 13×13: block open threes
Robot Factory: vs Factory Bot on 15×15: exactly five, six in a row doesn't count
Glitch Zone: vs Glitch Bot: eight blocked squares break the lines

Clear the Glitch Zone and the levels loop again with opponents that make 40% fewer careless moves. You have three hearts for the whole run, and the game is the same for everyone each day, so you can compare scores. Press M to turn the sound off or on.

Tips

An open three (three in a row with both ends free) becomes an open four next move, and that can't be stopped. Block threes early.
Build two lines at once: a move that makes two threes, or a four and a three, usually wins.
From the Robot Factory on, don't fill a gap that would make six in a row: it won't count.