Best Free Computer Go

Great collection of Go info, thanks. I gave stonebase a try and was impressed. I also like smartgo which has been mentioned above. I recently discovered a new site called Go Game Guru - http://gogameguru.com/ - they seem to be adding a lot of new Go articles and I thought you might want to add them to your list of sites. Also, as several people said KGS is good for finding other beginners to play against if you can't find anyone locally.

Here is a decent little Go program called Aya http://www32.ocn.ne.jp/~yss/
It's a simple download, just download the newest version Aya 6.34.

Is Stonebase any good for human v. computer play ?

yeah it is good

I like stonebase and qgo.

http://www.stonebase.cn/stonebase/eng/index.html
http://qgo.sourceforge.net/

Any suggestion for Shogi? Sorry for being off-topic, but I can't comment on the Chess page.

Too bad for the split from chess. I think that was bringing more people to the game of go. Now chess players may never even look.
Ah well...

These are some of the comments previously posted at "Best Free Computer Chess and Go"(obsolete category):

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#3 Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 02/13/2009 - 17:19.

There is a good client for playing go (free) on KGS - http://www.gokgs.com/
I also like glgo - interface for gnugo as well as connection to the igs server.
http://www.pandanet.co.jp/English/glgo/
Don't miss sensei's library http://senseis.xmp.net/?About
How to play go tutorial - http://playgo.to/interactive/
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#4 Submitted by Bob on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 14:08.

Hello again - I've now briefly tried out these recommendations.

- glGo seems excellent (http://www.pandanet.co.jp/English/glgo/) and could be a good candidate for a top recommendation [when I'm able to update the page]. It has a pleasant and reasonably intuitive interface. The "Preferences" allow you to choose whether you want to see the board in 2D or 3D - a nice touch. There's a slider to adjust engine strength when playing against the computer. In general, the program offers many features but is also beginner-friendly. It even has a charmingly illustrated tutorial for anyone who needs to learn the rules of the game. I've enjoyed watching online games at the Internet Go server (IGS), where the sounds are really useful to help follow the game. A word of warning here: when I tried switching from the default (Windows)sounds I lost the audio altogether and found myself having to do a clean reinstall to get it back. The issue is acknowledged in the genuinely helpful User Manual, and the website does warn one to expect some bugs. But this shouldn't put anyone off trying this very likable program.

- Unfortunately, I haven't been able to access the KGS server (from http://www.gokgs.com/) on my computer. This seems to be a Java-related issue - again acknowledged on the server's website.

- Yes, Sensei's Library has bags of stuff to explore...

- I agree that Hiroki Mori's Interactive Way to Go tutorial (http://playgo.to/interactive/) is superb. It provides a great introduction to a truly great board game.

Thank you again for the suggestions - greatly appreciated!

Bob
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#5 Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 02/18/2009 - 16:09.

Yes - you must have java for KGS.
Either a java client or the one that loads when you try to play.
I thought you would like glgo. I think others will like it as well.
I agree, watching games is very easy, even logged in as a guest.
I like to sort the list by number of moves, so I can watch games from near the beginning.
I would argue that go is the best board game in the world!

I am a high school teacher and try to teach as many kids as I am able, to play go.

I like to teach 9x9 capture go first - so many lessons come quickly with this method.
I just discovered this link (http://www.361points.com/capturego/)
On that site I just learned you can play gnugo online.
(http://www.361points.com/computergo/#gnugo)

Don't forget igowin for the go beginner - this is really nice for 9x9 play against the computer to get used to the game.
http://www.smart-games.com/igowin.html

Another good link to learn the game -
http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp/lesson/index-e.htm

I forget if (gizmo)is strictly for windows programs?
A great client for mac osx - Sen:te (http://www.sente.ch/software/goban/) Just look at that pretty board and those stones. It will also play with gnugo.

A flash into to the game -
http://www.macloo.com/gogame/gointro.htm

Finally - a mega link
http://www.usgo.org/resources/internet.html#Rules

k5kip
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#6 Submitted by Bob on Wed, 02/18/2009 - 21:09.

Hi k5kip -

This is great. Thanks!

I agree with you that Go has a very special fascination.

Yes, I appreciate the wisdom of starting off on a smaller sized board like 9 x 9, or playing Capture-Go. Your links to "361points.com" are great and I see this site has plenty of other interesting material (as does your "usgo.org" resources link). I'll certainly have a look at "Igowin" too.

Thanks also for the Mac OS X client link - yes, Gizmo does currently focus largely on Windows (though the existence of Mac is not ignored!)

Please free to make any additions/changes ("edit") you think best for the page ..

Regards

Bob

PS Re: "you must have java for KGS. Either a java client or the one that loads when you try to play." Yes I do ... but it still wouldn't work for me on Firefox or IE7.
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#7 Submitted by Bob on Fri, 02/13/2009 - 23:43.

Thanks Anon for the info on glgo -- I'll follow your link.

The excellent interactive tutorial you mention was actually one of the starting points for this page. Sensei's library is also cited (perhaps not clearly enough though).