The name Go refers to one of two games. The first is the traditional Chinese game of Wei-ch’i, a very technical game based on intricate captures that carried over into Japan. The second is Go-Moku, a casual and simple game that started in Japan, and has made its way across to the western world.
From ancient Chinese writings, it appears that the game of Wei-ch’i dates back to at least 625 BC. However, books written about the subject were initially made around the Tang dynasty, which lasted from 618-906 A.D. Finally, the game eventually made it to Japan by around 500 A.D., which was during the reign of Empress Suiko, and was routinely played by the Japanese royal courts throughout the ages. Wei-ch’i, renamed Go in Japan, became a very important game in Japan amongst the samurai during the thirteenth century. In fact, the game was so popular, that boards and their pieces were considered important military apparatuses during the warring period of the time. During the peaceful time afterwards, tournaments were held, and eventually an academy for the game was instituted by the sixteenth century. In a way, it could be said that Wei-Ch’i is the chess of China and Japan. This is because in both instances, people were taught the ends of out of the game, and both were considered an important component in being a member of high society.
The objective of Wei-ch’i is to control as much space as possible, using the playing pieces to box in an opponent’s available moves. In order to do this, two players take turns placing their pieces on the board on an empty point in the field, unless the placement leads to an opponent capturing the piece. Pieces are captured when they are surrounded on all sides by their opponent’s pieces, and are then removed from the board. Another important component of the game is kos, or points of the board where there can be a perpetual capture. If a ko is present, players are not allowed to recapture that point until a turn cycle after the initial capture. This is to prevent a cycle of perpetual capture, which would lead to a tie game, and the game itself is brought to a draw if three kos are present on the board at all times.
The other game entitled Go is a much less demanding game, played generally play women and children of Japan, along with visitors from the west. In this case, Go is a truncated form of Go-Moku. Not too much is known about this specific game’s history, however, it is played on the same board as Wei-ch’i. In Go-Moku, players take turns placing pieces similar to Wei-ch’i, however the goal is much different. In Go-Moku, players need to make a line of five, either diagonally, horizontally, or vertically. However, players are not allowed to construct an open string of three stones, but forks featuring three to four pieces are allowed. This variation of Go eventually made its way to Europe in 1885, starting with England as Spoil Five. An Americanized version of this game was created in 1977, with Pente. Pente adds very little to the game outside the ability to capture pairs of an opponent’s pieces, which can be used as a method of winning if players capture five pairs of their opponent’s pieces.
As you can see, Go is a game that has quite a varying history and play style, depending on the version picked. It’s definitely interesting to see, since you can either have a deep and involving game with a lot of strategy but hard to get into, or one with less intricacies and is simple enough to pick up and play.
Sources
Bell, Robert Charles. Board and Table Games From Many Civilizations. Dover
Publications Inc. New York, New York. 1979.
http://books.google.com/books?id=5viitl9PvBoC
Depaulis, Thierry & co. ed., Board Game Studies: International Journal of
Board Games. Lieden University, 1999.
http://ludicum.org/publicacoes/bgsj/2.pdf#page=114
No comments:
Post a Comment