Gomoku is simple to learn and deep to master. This hub organizes our complete strategy library into a clear path: start with the basics, read two complete practice games, learn how to verify threat sequences, and compare six named Renju opening shapes. Pick the guide that matches your level - or work through all four in order. Every guide is free and built to be read once and applied immediately at the board.
Just learned the rules? Start here. Compare open and blocked lines on a board, use the center as a practical starting point, and scan immediate wins and defenses before each move.
Practice checking immediate wins, defenses, and threat order with two short, fully recorded study games under this site's exact-five rules.
Learn how to record a complete position, check the rule set, and test every meaningful defense before calling a line forced. Four illustrated positions show where easy claims break down.
Compare three direct and three indirect named Renju openings. Each entry shows the defining first three stones and a separate five-move casual practice continuation.
Not sure where you are? Use this quick self-assessment. Be honest - the guide below your true level won't help, and the guide above it will frustrate you.
The natural progression is Beginner → Intermediate → Advanced, with Openings as a reference you revisit throughout. Don't skip - each guide assumes the one before it.
Four ideas run through the entire strategy library. Whatever guide you're reading, these are the threads to hold onto:
A four may leave one or two immediate winning points. An open three can become urgent, but the opponent may have another defense or a counter-win. Name the legal replies before calling a sequence forced. See VCF and VCT in the glossary.
Before extending your own line, check whether your opponent can win immediately. If both sides have threats, the side to move and the exact winning points decide whether to attack, block, or find a counter-win.
A nearby stone can extend a row or create a second useful line. A distant move needs its own concrete purpose. Compare the empty intersections each candidate will use after the opponent replies.
Calculating one branch deeply loses to the branch you didn't read. After your move, name the opponent's best defense and your reply to it. If you can't, you haven't calculated - you've hoped.
Start in the center, learn to recognize the basic shapes (open twos, open threes, fours), and run a 5-step scan before every move: can I win now, can they win next, can I make a double threat, can I extend a line, where's the best empty space. The full breakdown is in the beginner guide.
Progress depends on how often you review complete games and correct mistakes. Begin by identifying immediate wins and defenses, then practice reading several replies to each candidate move. The guides here follow that progression.
Learn standard gomoku first - the tactics (fours, threes, VCF, forks) transfer directly. Once those are automatic, Renju adds forbidden moves for Black and makes the four-three the primary winning shape. See the casual vs formal Renju comparison for the full rule differences and a learning path.
Right here - our play page has a free AI with adjustable difficulty (Easy, Medium, Hard). The best way to use it: pick one concept from a guide and focus on applying it for ten games, then review your losses to find the move where the game turned.
Pick a guide above, then test what you learn against the AI - or jump straight into a game.