Play Gomoku Online Free
Play against the AI, pass and play on one device, or invite a friend to a private online room. No signup or download required.
Interactive Gomoku board. Click an empty intersection to place a stone. Keyboard users can use the arrow keys to move and Enter or Space to place a stone.
Rules Used by This Board
This browser game is a casual exact-five implementation. Black moves first and players place one stone per turn on an empty intersection. The first unbroken line of exactly five stones, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, wins. A line of six or more is not a win in this implementation.
It is not a formal Renju tournament board: it does not enforce Black's Renju forbidden moves or the RIF opening procedure. Free-style, Renju, and other Gomoku apps can use different rules. Read the rules comparison before transferring a tactic between variants.
Choose a Mode
Play Against the Local AI
The AI uses minimax search with alpha-beta pruning and a pattern-based evaluation. Easy may choose a random nearby move; the configured search depths are 1 ply for Easy, 2 for Medium, and 3 for Hard. It is designed for local practice, not as a rating or a formal game engine.
Pass and Play
Switch to 2 Player mode in Settings, then take turns on the same device. This page does not include network matchmaking or synchronized remote play.
Play with a Remote Friend
Create a private room and share an invite link from our online friend play page. The room is live, uses a 15×15 exact-five board, and supports play on separate devices.
What This Free Browser Game Includes
The board is intentionally focused on a small set of reliable local features. You can choose a board size, play against the local AI, switch to two-player pass-and-play, undo an unfinished turn sequence, and start a new game without registering. The board marks the last move, announces the current turn, and highlights the winning line when a game ends.
The local board does not include accounts, ratings, matchmaking, chat, or saved cloud games. The 2 Player setting means two people use the same device; for separate devices, use the private online room. An iMessage match is a separate workflow, covered in the iPhone guide.
It also does not claim to be a tournament engine. The AI uses a lightweight pattern evaluation and shallow minimax search so that it can run locally in a browser. Use the game to practice scanning, blocking, and connecting threats; use a formal rules source and a dedicated engine when you need official Renju analysis.
What to Do After a Game
A result is more useful when you can explain why it happened. Start by finding the first decisive moment, not only the final winning move. Did you overlook an open four? Did you spend a turn attacking while the opponent already had an immediate win? Did a move look like a double threat but actually have a legal block? These questions turn a casual game into a short review exercise.
For a beginner review, replay the last five moves on paper or describe them using row and column positions. Mark every intersection that would have won immediately. Then mark every intersection the opponent threatened. If your move was neither a win, a block, nor a useful multi-direction connection, ask whether it created a problem one turn later.
Once this process feels natural, move from 9x9 to 13x13 and then 15x15. Read the intermediate Gomoku strategy guide when you are ready to compare forcing moves, and use the Gomoku glossary when a term such as VCF, VCT, or overline appears in your study.
A useful online game should make the next action obvious: the status tells you whose turn it is, the board accepts a move only on an empty intersection, and Settings lets you restart with a different mode or size. If you are teaching a new player, explain the win condition first, play one short 9x9 game, and only then introduce strategy vocabulary.
Why Play Gomoku Online?
An online Gomoku board is useful when you want to start a game immediately, practice a pattern, or teach someone the rules without finding a physical set. This page runs the board in your browser, so the game does not need an account, a download, or a matchmaking queue. You can open it on a desktop, tablet, or phone and begin with the current settings.
Browser play is especially convenient for short practice sessions. A 9x9 board gives you a compact position with fewer empty intersections to scan. A 13x13 board leaves more room for connected attacks without taking as long to read as a full board. The 15x15 board provides the most space and is the closest match for the board size used by formal Renju, although this browser game is not a formal Renju implementation.
For a complete explanation of the objective before you start, read how to play Gomoku. For a more detailed explanation of exact-five, free-style, and Renju, use the Gomoku rules guide.
How the Two Game Modes Work
Against the AI
You play Black and the local AI plays White. After your move, the browser searches nearby legal intersections and selects a response. Easy, Medium, and Hard are practical difficulty labels for this site, not a universal strength rating and not a promise that the AI will find every winning line.
Use Easy to learn how a move changes the board. Use Medium to practice checking both players' immediate threats. Use Hard when you want a deeper local challenge. If a response takes longer on a large position, allow the AI to finish before clicking the board again.
Two-Player Pass and Play
Choose 2 Player in Settings when two people are sharing one screen. Black places the first stone, then White takes the next turn. Pass the device after each move and keep the board visible to both players so neither person has to reconstruct the position from memory.
This mode is local only. It does not create a room, send moves to another device, or save a match to an account. For a remote iPhone match, see the iMessage and GamePigeon guide.
Choosing the Right Board Size
The board size changes how quickly a threat becomes important. It does not change the basic turn order or the exact-five condition used by this page. Pick a size based on the kind of practice you want rather than assuming the largest board is always better.
| Board | Best for | What to practice |
|---|---|---|
| 9x9 | First games, children, and quick sessions | Spot an immediate win, block a line, and count open space |
| 13x13 | Players who want a middle ground | Connect an attack while tracking more than one direction |
| 15x15 | Longer casual games and tournament-style board geometry | Opening space, flexible threats, and wider defensive scans |
A smaller board is not automatically easier for every player. It reduces the number of legal moves, but it can make a single missed block decisive. On a 15x15 board, a quiet move may preserve several future directions. On a 9x9 board, the same move may run out of room quickly. Compare the available sizes in our Gomoku board size guide before choosing a physical board or an online variant.
A Simple Practice Routine
You do not need to memorize opening names to improve. Use the same short routine at the start of each game so that your attention goes to the position rather than to the interface.
- Scan all four directions. Before placing a stone, look horizontally, vertically, and along both diagonals. The strongest move is sometimes outside the line you were watching.
- Find immediate wins. Ask whether either player can complete exactly five on the next move. A winning move takes priority over a general plan.
- Find immediate blocks. If the opponent has a winning intersection, block it unless your own move ends the game under the active rules.
- Prefer flexible connections. When no immediate win or loss exists, consider moves that support more than one future line and leave room to extend.
- Review the last mistake. After a game ends, identify the first move where you missed a win, a block, or a rule detail. Replaying one position is more useful than changing every opening at once.
This routine is deliberately rule-aware. The legal response to a double-three or an overline depends on the variant. The board here uses exact-five, while formal Renju has additional restrictions for Black. Keep the active rules in mind when you compare this practice game with a club game or another app.
Common Problems When Playing in a Browser
The board feels too large on a phone
Open Settings and choose 9x9 for a compact position, or rotate the phone to landscape. The board scales to the available width while keeping its square shape.
A stone appears to land beside the intersection
Tap the visible crossing rather than the gap between lines. If the page has been zoomed, return Safari or the browser to its normal zoom so the displayed board and touch coordinates stay aligned.
The AI does not respond immediately
The AI waits briefly before moving so the board can update. Do not make another move while the status says that the AI is thinking. On a large board, the local search can also take longer than on 9x9.
A line of six does not win
This page intentionally uses exact-five: a line of exactly five wins, while an overline does not. Other Gomoku games commonly use five-or-more or formal Renju rules. See the rules comparison before comparing results.
Pick a Board Size
| Size | Intersections | Useful for |
|---|---|---|
| 9x9 | 81 | Short practice games and learning basic patterns |
| 13x13 | 169 | A middle-sized casual board |
| 15x15 | 225 | The size specified by formal RIF Renju rules |
The available board sizes change the shape of the game. They do not make this board a formal Renju implementation.
Want to play with someone remotely on iPhone? See our iMessage and GamePigeon guide. For a quick explanation of the game itself, read how to play Gomoku.
A Simple Move Checklist
- Check for an immediate win. Look in all four directions before placing a stone.
- Check the opponent's immediate win. If they can make exactly five next turn, find a legal reply or a winning counter-move.
- Compare threats. Open space and multiple possible continuations can be useful, but the best choice depends on the full position.
- Confirm the active rules. An overline, a double threat, or a first move may be treated differently under another game's rules.
Start with the beginner walkthrough and use the strategy guide for practice ideas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an account?
No account or login is required to use the board.
Can I use a phone?
The board is designed for modern browsers on phones, tablets, and desktop devices. A smaller board can be easier to use on a narrow screen.
Can I play a remote friend?
Not directly through this board. The built-in 2 Player mode is pass-and-play on one device.
Why does six not win here?
This site uses exact-five. Other variants differ: free-style commonly allows five or more, while formal Renju treats Black and White overlines differently.
Reviewed 2026-09-08. Formal Renju reference: Renju International Federation rules.