The Family History of Gomoku and Go
Gomoku and Go look like relatives and are often confused for each other. They share a board and almost nothing else. Here is the actual family tree.
Gomoku Articles
17 posts tagged with Gomoku.
The Open Source Board Engine Ecosystem
A board engine is three layers: rules, referee, and search. Here is how the open source board game engine ecosystem fits together, where Gomoku and chess engines live on GitHub, and what web projects change.
Grades and Dans vs ELO: What Is the Difference Between Ranking Systems
Gomoku uses dan grades, chess uses ELO, and go uses both rank and dan. This post explains how each ranking system works, where it fits best, and what each does well.
Web vs Desktop: The Experience Gap
How different is playing in a browser versus a desktop app? From the wait to performance, offline play, and updates, we lay out the web game vs desktop gap and why YiBoard stays browser-only.
Online Referee vs Human Referee: Which Is Fairer
Who calls the rules more fairly, an online referee or a human? From gomoku forbidden moves to win detection, see how server-side refereeing keeps board games fair.
Gomoku Rank Explained: How YiBoard Rates Every Player
YiBoard's gomoku rank starts everyone at 1200, Sixth Grade, and moves with every win and loss. Here is exactly how the rating works, how grades and dans map to your score, and why no season resets it.
Spectator Mode: Watch and Learn
One of the best ways to improve at Gomoku is to watch others play. Spectator mode lets you observe strategies, learn patterns, and develop your game sense.
How to Practice Against the AI
The AI opponent is the best practice partner: no emotions, no distractions, always available for review. Here's how to play against AI and use it to improve.
The North Star: A Game in One Minute
Why instant play games are the north star for a board game site: one link is the room, zero sign-up, five seconds to pull an opponent to the table, and why "fast enough to not want to close" is what keeps players.
Think Offline, Win Online
YiBoard splits the work: you think offline, the online board game community plays the result. Why playing with strangers, matchmaking design, and live gomoku change the game.
Share a Game: A Match Is a Calling Card
Playing well is good, sharing the game is better. YiBoard match links turn a single game into a calling card: send it to a friend, drop it in a group chat, or save it for yourself. This post covers how to share, what a match link contains, and why reviewing is the fastest way to improve.
Real Ranks vs Bronze and Platinum: What Dan Grades Actually Measure
Gomoku dan grades and video game ranks like Bronze and Platinum are completely different systems: one ranks by winning matches, the other by accumulating points. This post covers where dan grades come from, how they differ from Elo, and why grades tell you more about your real level.
A Real Engine in Your Browser: Alpha-Beta in 500ms
YiBoard’s Gomoku AI is not a cloud API; it is an alpha-beta pruning engine running locally in your browser with a 500ms search budget. No queue, no rate limits, available to everyone.
How to Play Gomoku: Rules, Openings & Winning Strategy
Learn how to play Gomoku (Five in a Row): the 30-second rules, the key shapes like live three and open four, three opening moves that work right away, and where to play free in your browser. A beginner-friendly guide.
Server-side Refereeing: Why Nobody Can Cheat Your Game
Every move on YiBoard is validated by the server; the client is only a display layer. A patched client cannot invent a win. That is the baseline of our anti-cheat design.
Where the Ladder Comes From
Ninth Grade to Ninth Dan: why YiBoard borrowed grades and dans from real Chinese board culture instead of bronze and platinum. Everyone starts at 1200, Sixth Grade.
Why Gomoku Ships First
Learnable in thirty seconds, argued about for three thousand years. Gomoku is YiBoard’s shortest road to the world: one sentence of rules, endless strategy. Here is why it ships first.