To most western players, the game of Go is an enigma. Invented in China 4,000 years ago, it has no proper analogue in the West. It's like chess, but endlessly more complex. Focused more upon territory control and less about capturing the opponent's pieces, there are between 150-250 valid moves a player could make on any turn. For chess, this number never climbs above 37. It is said there have never been two identical games of Go, and there does not yet exist a computer program that can reliably beat Go experts - let alone the masters.

Elegant Simplicity

Despite this, Go is surprisingly easy to learn. There are only two rules: 1. Every piece that remains on the board must have at least one open point (called a "liberty") directly next to it, and 2. Players are not allowed to make a move that would return the game to a previous position.

Good to Go

This set includes everything needed to play a game of Go: one 29cm square wood board, and a full set of 361 double-convex stones. Separate resealable bags to store both sets of stones are also included.