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Variations

The rules of go, especially with respect to how the score of a game is counted, vary in different parts of the world. Most sets of rules fall into one of two categories: rules using "territory counting," such as the Japanese rules; and rules using "area counting," such as the Chinese rules.

In territory counting, which is used in Japan, Korea, and most other countries, each player scores one point for each surrounded vacant point and one point for each prisoner captured (plus compensation, if applicable). After both playerspass, dead groups--ones without two eyes--are simply removed from the board and added to the pile of prisoners; the player who captures them does not need to complete their capture by adding stones to surround them.

In area counting, which is used primarily in China, each player scores one point for each surrounded vacant point and one point for each occupied vacant point (plus compensation, if applicable). One advantage of Chinese rules is that there is never an argument at the end of the game over whether a group is dead and may be removed: A player who thinks a group is dead can simply prove it by continuing to play until the group's liberties are gone. Unnecessary moves played inside one's own territory would each lose a point under territory counting rules, but not under area counting (since occupied points count the same as surrounded vacant points). Determining the life or death of a group under territory counting rules can occasionally be tricky, as when it contains a ko that only one player thinks needs to be fought.

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Territory and area counting approaches may seem very different, they almost always produce the same outcome. Because both players usually make the same number of moves during a game--or at most one move more or less than the other--counting prisoners is essentially the same as counting occupied points. A player who has captured more prisoners than the opponent will also have more stones on the board than the opponent, and by the same amount (within one).

The presence of certain kinds of seki shapes can, in rare cases, make the outcome of a game turn on whether territory counting or area counting is used. Vacant points in a seki are not counted under most sets of rules that use territory counting, but they are under area counting rules. Another rare situation in which the choice of counting method may change the outcome is when one player has passed more often than the other.

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Variations
	The rules of go, especially with respect to how the score of a game is counted, vary in different parts of the world. Most sets of rules fall into one of two categories: rules using "territory counting," such as the Japanese rules; and rules using "area counting," such as the Chinese rules. In territory counting, which is used in Japan, Korea, and most other countries, each player scores one point for each surrounded vacant point and one point for each prisoner captured (plus compensation, if applicable). After both playerspass, dead groups--ones without two eyes--are simply removed from the board and added to the pile of prisoners; the player who captures them does not need to complete their capture by adding stones to surround them. In area counting, which is used primarily in China, each player scores one point for each surrounded vacant point and one point for each occupied vacant point (plus compensation, if applicable). One advantage of Chinese rules is that there is never an argument at the end of the game over whether a group is dead and may be removed: A player who thinks a group is dead can simply prove it by continuing to play until the group's liberties are gone. Unnecessary moves played inside one's own territory would each lose a point under territory counting rules, but not under area counting (since occupied points count the same as surrounded vacant points). Determining the life or death of a group under territory counting rules can occasionally be tricky, as when it contains a ko that only one player thinks needs to be fought. Back to Top Territory and area counting approaches may seem very different, they almost always produce the same outcome. Because both players usually make the same number of moves during a game--or at most one move more or less than the other--counting prisoners is essentially the same as counting occupied points. A player who has captured more prisoners than the opponent will also have more stones on the board than the opponent, and by the same amount (within one). The presence of certain kinds of seki shapes can, in rare cases, make the outcome of a game turn on whether territory counting or area counting is used. Vacant points in a seki are not counted under most sets of rules that use territory counting, but they are under area counting rules. Another rare situation in which the choice of counting method may change the outcome is when one player has passed more often than the other. Back to Top