What is Gomoku with captures?
This variant adds captures to five in a row. It is played on a 19×19 board, and you win by making an unbroken line of five or more stones, or by capturing five pairs of your opponent's stones.
To capture, place a stone so that exactly two enemy stones sit in a straight line between it and another of your stones: across, down or diagonally. Those two stones are removed, and the points become empty again. Only pairs are taken; a single stone or three in a row between your stones is safe. You may also place a stone between two enemy stones without being captured, since a capture happens only on the capturing player's move. The number of pairs each player has taken is shown during the game.
The first stone must go on the centre point, and the first player's second stone must be at least three points away from the centre in row or column. This tournament rule weakens the first player's head start. Captures make every line fragile, so a strong attack can disappear in one move.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Gomoku | Gomoku with captures |
|---|---|---|
| Board | Standard Gomoku15×15 points. | Gomoku with captures19×19 points by default. 13×13 and 15×15 can be chosen in the setup. |
| Opening | Standard GomokuBlack's first stone may go anywhere. | Gomoku with capturesThe first stone goes on the centre point, and the first player's second stone must be at least three points from the centre. |
| Captures | Standard GomokuNone: stones never leave the board. | Gomoku with capturesFlanking exactly two enemy stones in a line between two of yours removes them from the board. |
| Playing between two enemy stones | Standard GomokuHas no special effect. | Gomoku with capturesSafe: placing your stone into a flanked gap never gets it captured. |
| How to win | Standard GomokuMake an unbroken line of exactly five stones. | Gomoku with capturesMake a line of five or more stones, or capture five pairs. |
History
This capture game was created in 1977 by Gary Gabrel, a student at Oklahoma State University, who worked out the rules while washing dishes at a pizza restaurant in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He based it on Ninuki-Renju, a Japanese five-in-a-row game with pair captures, and simplified it for a 19×19 board.
Gabrel's own company sold the game from 1979, and a large American game publisher brought it out from 1983 to 1993, which made it a well-known American board game of the 1980s. The rule that the first stone goes in the centre and the second stone stays at least three points away became the standard tournament rule. In the original game White moves first; here the first player is Black.