Development notes, board game culture, and updates from YiBoard.
Go sits last in our build order, behind gomoku, xiangqi and reversi. Not because it matters less, but because it costs the most to do properly. Here is the go development plan: the hard parts, the order we are building in, and what has to be true before it ships.
After two quiet months, the questions about xiangqi development are about progress and release date. This dev log answers both: how the cannon captures, what the river changes, why the soldiers hold up the schedule, and an honest release window rather than an invented date.
Players who want to improve gomoku rating usually play more games, then find the number unchanged after three hundred of them. What actually moves it is narrower: count threats before your stone lands, finish losing games, and write down the move that decided the result. A four-week roadmap from 1200 to 1800, one fix per band.
Two players read the same stones and choose different moves. The gap is usually tempo, nerve and habit rather than calculation. This guide covers the mental side you can practise in gomoku: pressure that costs nothing, opponent habits worth reading, and the moment to stop watching them.
Five in a row is the goal in every variant; the arguments start at the edges. This guide covers freestyle gomoku, renju rules, the swap opening protocol and overline handling, plus four things to confirm before the first stone.
A gomoku endgame is won by reading forcing moves in order, measuring usable space, and checking the whole board before committing to the final move.
Gomoku midgame play turns on one decision: when can you stop answering and make the opponent answer you? Use forcing moves, dual-purpose stones, and a two-move test to choose the moment.
Free-style gomoku was proved a first-player win in 1993, so the question of whether gomoku is solved has a real answer. Here is what the proof covers, why it does not hand you an unbeatable line, and what still decides your games.
A 1200 start does not mean everyone plays the same. Here is the rating algorithm behind YiBoard: the expected-score formula, the real numbers behind rating gain and loss, why a new account climbs faster, and how the score converts to grades and dans.
Search stops halfway, and the other half is the evaluation function. Here is what board evaluation actually does, how gomoku shapes get scored, when heuristic scoring lies, and how to turn engine numbers into your own judgement.
Black moves first and, under freestyle rules, black wins with perfect play. That is tempo, not magic. Here is which shapes to claim in the gomoku opening, how white answers, and a ten-move routine you can rehearse.
A gomoku double three is the most teachable winning combination: one stone makes two open threes, the opponent can answer only one. How double threes, double fours and four-threes convert, what forbidden-move rules change, and how to build the shape early.
Gomoku defense is not about blocking every three. This covers which shapes demand an immediate answer, which can be ignored, and how to turn a blocking stone into a counter attack.
Go rewards influence and patience; chess rewards tactics and conquest. Behind these two game philosophies lie two civilizations' fundamentally different ideas about winning, and about process itself.
The Chinese name for go literally means the encircling game. Born in China, carried to Japan and Korea, then worldwide, its rules have barely changed in two thousand years. This post traces that history and why territory, the core idea, never moved.
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.
Every platform gets the rules right, so the real differences are the score estimate, undo, handicap support and how a resignation reads. How to pick for playing, learning or teaching.
Xiangqi online platforms in English are thin and often rule-wrong. We explain the gap, why the legged horse breaks apps, and where to play xiangqi online.
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.
Why mobile Gomoku apps fire ads exactly when you want to keep playing — three common tricks, and why the free web version is different.
Board games and video games both claim to be better for your brain. A side-by-side look at the research, what each does well, and why the answer is not either-or.
Chess.com was not the first online chess site, but it is the one that turned a board game into a business. A look at the four things it got right and what a browser board game platform can borrow.
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.
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.
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.
A signup wall does not filter out tire-kickers — it filters out everyone who just wanted one game. Accounts also come with data responsibilities. This post breaks down the real cost of signup walls and why optional accounts are the better compromise.
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.
Online vs physical board games — what's the real difference? Compare tactile play, social presence, accessibility, rule enforcement and analysis tools to decide which format fits your goals.
Learn how to play board games using only your keyboard. Accessible gaming for players with mobility challenges.
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.
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.
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.
Why can a board game site run with no ads and no tracking? This post explains the business model behind privacy-first game sites, how they survive without selling data, and what no tracking means for players.
Board games are a natural fit for the browser: simple rules, turn-based play that tolerates latency, share-a-link matchmaking, and zero-install cross-device play. This piece covers the real challenges of bringing traditional board games online and why the web beats native apps for this genre.
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.
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.
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.
Every game on YiBoard is free forever: no ads, no paywall, no energy bars. That is not a traffic trick, it is a design decision. Why free board games online is our philosophy, and how we stay alive.
English, 中文, Español, 日本語, Português do Brasil: YiBoard was written in five languages from day one, including rules, tooltips and error messages, not just the landing page. Here is why.
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.
Open the page and play. Signup is optional, never a gate. YiBoard puts "start now" first: play anonymously, attach an email only when you want your record to follow you.
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.
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.
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.
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.