Gomoku variants
Other ways to play Gomoku, each one ready to play here. Read how a variant changes the rules, then start a game with it chosen in the table setup.
Freestyle Gomoku
Gomoku without the exact-five rule: any unbroken line of five or more of your stones wins, so six or seven in a row count too.
Gomoku with the Swap opening
One player places the first three stones, two black and one white, and the other player then chooses which colour to play.
Gomoku with the Swap2 opening
The tournament opening: after three stones are placed, the second player picks a colour or adds two more stones and passes the choice back.
Caro
The Vietnamese five in a row: a line of exactly five that the opponent has blocked at both ends does not win, but longer lines always do.
Omok
The Korean five in a row on a 19×19 board: five or more wins, and neither player may make two open threes with one stone.
Connect6
Black starts with one stone, then each player places two stones a turn, and the first to make six or more in a row wins.
Gomoku with captures
Five in a row with captures: flank two enemy stones to take them off the board, and five captured pairs win as well.
Gomoku on 13×13 and 19×19 boards
The same five-in-a-row rules on a smaller 13×13 board for quick games or on the large 19×19 Go board for longer ones.