Discovering the Invisible Ring of Fire in Go: A Beginner's Perspective

Teaching
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Hello Go enthusiasts!

As a newcomer to this ancient and fascinating game, I’ve embarked on a journey that led me to an intriguing discovery. Just three months into playing Go and reaching 11 kyu after about 100 games, I’ve noticed something that might interest both beginners and seasoned players alike.

I’ve been experimenting with the Godot 4 game engine and decided to recreate the Go board with a twist. I call it the “Invisible Ring of Fire.” This feature adds a fire ring around the board, visually emphasizing the strategic importance of corners - an aspect of the game I’ve found crucial as a beginner.

The idea came to me as I was struggling with the concept of corner enclosures, it just didn’t look that big to me.

I’ve attached two images for comparison: one of a standard Go board and another of my modified version with the Ring of Fire. It’s a simple addition, but I believe it can be a game-changer for beginners in understanding the real power and potential of corner plays. (just look at those corner enclosers and how big they look)

I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Do you think visual aids like this can help in learning Go? Would love to discuss this further with all of you!

Happy gaming

MyraCaller

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I find the red stones disturbing, I’d be afraid to touch fire.

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before endgame, its bad idea to place stones on 1st line

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What’s the next move in this joseki?

Capture d'écran 2023-12-19 133209

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(usually)

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This is a very nice idea and visualisation. Following @jlt 's suggestion though, you might want to re-think the red, not only as a color, but also as the concept of fire.

The edge of the board is not really a big dangerzone, but you can think about it as having potential stones already placed. Stones that might be yours (so to your advantage) or the opponent’s (so, to your detriment).

You could replace the red with a black and white stone like in the OGS forum logo and thus have a more accurate representation of what goes on.

Well done!

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I would put a few chairs around the fire, so that the center stay in the dark

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