Five stones in a straight line wins. That is the whole rulebook, and you can teach it to anyone in ten seconds. The trick is that your opponent is building lines too, and every stone you place has to attack and defend at the same time.
You can play Gomoku unblocked here on a 15x15 grid. It comes from Christopher Müller's PaperGames collection, with a computer opponent at three strengths and a mode for two people on one device.
How to play Gomoku
Black opens. After that you alternate, each setting one stone on an empty crossing point. Stones are never moved or removed, so the board only fills up.
Get five or more of your stones in a solid line, across, down or on either diagonal, and you win on the spot. This is the freestyle form, so a line of six also counts and Black has no banned moves. If the grid fills with no line of five, the game is drawn.
Against the computer, take Black if you want the first move or White if you would rather reply, and set the level to Easy, Medium or Hard. The newest stone wears a small ring, and the status line tells you whose turn it is. Undo takes back your last stone, plus the computer's reply.
Controls
| To… | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place a stone | Arrow keys to move between points, Enter to place | Click an empty intersection | Tap an empty intersection |
| Start a two-player game | — | Click "2 Player (local)" | Tap "2 Player (local)" |
| Start a game against the computer | — | Click "vs Computer", pick a color and level, then click "New game" | Tap "vs Computer", pick a color and level, then tap "New game" |
| Take back your last stone | — | Click "Undo" | Tap "Undo" |
| Give up the current game | — | Click "Resign" | Tap "Resign" |
Tips
- Watch open ends. Three in a row with space on both sides is a bigger threat than four with one end blocked.
- Set up a fork. One stone that creates two threats at once, such as two open threes, usually wins next turn.
- Kill open threes right away. Let one grow into an open four and you face two winning points with one stone to block.
- Play near the middle. Central lines have room to run in every direction.
- Use gapped shapes. A pattern like stone, stone, gap, stone is easy to miss and can still turn into five.
Gomoku questions
How strong is each computer level?
Easy picks a random point near the stones on the board. Medium grabs any winning point and blocks yours before ranking other options. Hard adds a short search a few moves deep.
Can I play a friend?
Yes. Tap 2 Player (local) and pass the device back and forth. There is no online play.
Does my game stay if I leave the page?
Yes. Your unfinished game is stored by the browser and loads again on your next visit from the same device.
