How to get a game on OGS (Understanding the game graph)

So, you’re new to OGS. Welcome! This post will demonstrate how to navigate the game graph and find a game.

First, let’s look at the game graph:

###On the main page###

###On the chat page###

How to read it

The axes

Y-axis (Vertical)

The y-axis is rank. The higher your rank, the higher your open challenge will appear on the graph and vice-versa

X-axis (Horizontal)

The x-axis is game time. The faster the game, the further left it will appear on the graph and vice-versa. The games in the ‘Long’ section are correspondence games, everything to the left is considered a live game.

###New Game (green rectangle)###
This link will open a pop-up dialog with game settings: You can also reach this menu from the site menu (click the three horizontal lines in the upper left corner).

Most of this is pretty self explanatory. Game settings. One note of interest is the menu in the upper left corner (highlighted in green)

####Open Challenge###
If this option is selected, any game created will be placed on the game graph and be open to be accepted by any player (within rank restrictions).

####Computer###
This option will allow you to directly challenge any of the bots that play on OGS

####Challenge User####
This option will directly challenge a specific user. That user will get a notification and will be able to accept or deny your challenge.

####Demo Board####
This option will open a demo board.

###The wrench (yellow rectangle)###
Graph options:

####Show live games being played####
Unchecking this will remove the blue squares from the graph (see The Squares below for more info).

####Show game offers in chat####
If this is option is on any new challenge will be announced in your chat window with an accept button. The button will be grayed out if you are unable to accept due to rank restrictions.

####Show game starts in chat####
If this option is on any accepted open challenge will be announced in your chat window. That announcement will also be a link, which will open a new tab (or window, depending on browser settings) and direct you to the game so you may observe.

###The eye (purple rectangle)###
This is a link which will take you to a page with a larger version of the game graph from in chat.

The graph squares

The squares on the graph represent games. If the square is green, it is a game you are able to accept. Grayed out squares are games you may not accept, based on rank restrictions. Blue squares are games currently being played.

Hover your mouse over a square to see the following pop-ups:

Open Challenge

Top Bar

Challenger rank on the far left and average time per move on the far right.

Accept indicator (red rectangle)

A green circle here indicates that you may accept the game. Gray means either the rank has been restricted by the user who posted the game or, in the case of a ranked game, your rank is more then 9 stones apart from the challenger.

Player info (Yellow rectangle)####

Username of the challenger.

The rest

The remaining text (next to the username) gives the details of the challenge. Board size, ranked/free, game title, etc…

###Active Game###

####Top Bar####
The average rank of the two players is on the far left and the average time spent per move is on the far right.

####The eye (blue rectangle)####
A link to let you watch the game. Clicking will open a new tab (or window, depending on browser settings) and direct you to the game.

####Player Info (yellow rectangle)####
Usernames and ranks for the players in the game

###Wrap up###
The game graph is a good way to see, with a glance, what games are available or being played. I hope this has been helpful. Enjoy your games on OGS!

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Is it possible to adjust the time settings for playing against a bot?

Not from that menu (though that needs to be added), but if you go to the bots group http://online-go.com/group/192 you can challenge them directly (by clicking on their icon and clicking the go stones/grid icon on the pop-up) and change the settings.

We’ll get the ability to modify the time settings to the new game menu as well.