New Interactive Tutorial for Beginners

I have (along with some minor changes) published the “middle game” chapter.
https://www.learn-go.net/lessons/14/

I must say I found it quite a challenge, and am not sure if it could not be done much better, so any feedback or suggestions would be very appreciated :slight_smile:

Also, I am thinking about new “invasions/reductions” chapter, do you think it a worthwile basic topic? Any specific ideas what to talk about/not forget?

Thanks in advance, and thanks for pushing me into working on it @yebellz :smiley:

3 Likes

I guess all of my complaints can be summed up as “this mid-game chapter isn’t a beginners guide”.

Edit: I’m also not sure that you can write a succinct beginners guide to the mid-game at all.

1 Like

hmmm, yeah, I was kind of afraid of that :D. But what would you say to a beginner?

That they shouldn’t worry too much about “proper mid-game theory” until they know:

  1. basic life and death
  2. common shapes
  3. basic opening theory

and then it turns into a big mess… I wrote like 20 pages on “basic mid-game stuff” and it feels like it’s missing a lot.

Adam, I’ll send you a private message with something that may or may not help…

2 Likes

I feel that there’s a natural tension between producing material suitable for beginners vs covering a broad enough range for topics. I also have concerns about whether the new content is really suitable for the intended audience.

Invasions and reductions seem like quite an advanced topic.

Maybe a good way to judge the suitability of material is to ask: is this material necessary (but not necessarily sufficient) for reaching rank X? Where is X is 20k, 15k, 10k, or wherever you want to draw the line as for how advanced the material should delve.

On another note, have you given more though as to the suggestions that I made earlier about the Creative Commons?

The thing is, I don’t want to say nothing. Middle game seems such a huge part of the game that it feels super weird to ignore it, and naturally beginners will wonder about it. I do not necessarily need a complete guide, but I would like to be able to give them something to think about. Would love a feedback from any beginner reading this :smiley: . Did the chapter made any sense to you, or do you think it is not aplicaple for you just yet?

Weird, I thought I implemented it long ago :thinking:, but seems not. Hopefully I have fixed the issue now, and as I said before, I am okay with pretty much anything apart from commercial use on the off chance anyone had a use for it :smiley:

3 Likes

Awesome!

Just some minor recommendations:

  • Mention the license (at least the human readable summary) on the website
  • Link to the GitLab project on the website
  • In the GitLab project, use the full license text (instead of just the human readable summary) for the “LICENSE” file
  • Move the human readable summary of the license into the “README.md” file.

Edit: I put it in the catalog: Go Books/Content in the Creative Commons

Did I get the author list correct? Pseudonyms are okay if that’s what people want to use.

Just to be sure, you should also confirm with your collaborators that the license is acceptable with them.

3 Likes

I agree something needs to be covered for the midgame. I think that there’s two main concepts in the mid-game:

  1. connect your groups
  2. cut your opponents groups

the other stuff is really just nuances of those two. But how you go about explaining that well to a new player? Not sure…

4 Likes

The solution for the last problem refers to H18, but the board did not show coordinates.

Hm? The tsumego board should show coordinates by default. Could you tell me what device you are using and/or show a screenshot please?

Or did you mean you would prefer the coordinate to be highlighted directly on the board?

Greetings Adam, Thank you for your efforts on behalf of our great game.

I took a quick look at your site. It is prettier and more modern than the Interactive way to GO. However, I found it more confusing. I believe the strength of the interactive way to GO is its very simple introduction. One does not have to choose which area they want to learn first. It starts with just teaching u black goes first and u play on intersections. Next.

I am not sure how pertinent my comments are. I think it would be best to get a few people who have never played GO and ask which site they thought it was easier to learn from. And maybe incorporate the best of both.

The Interactive GO site has not been updated it is very looong in the tooth. But I still feel it is the best systematic approach to learning the game. It is not the best at capturing ones interest who does not play. A brief attractive intro with the same systematic approach is what I would hope to see. Please do not take these observations as a harsh criticism. I appreciate your efforts and am well aware how easy it is to critique and how hard to build. Best wishes and in GO and life may all your tenukis be tesujis.

3 Likes

Hello Nghtstalker and thanks for taking the time to share your feedback :slight_smile:

Well, I assumed when one does not know, one would start at the beginning, but fair enough :smiley: I have thweaked the initial page a bit to make it super obvious (you won’t see it unless you reset your progress.).

Other than that, I don’t want the website to be ONLY for beginners. I think many times a player comes who knows at least the rules and wants to learn more (and thus skip the first chapters) and I also think it is good to be able to revisit older topics.

I guess comparisons are inevitable, but I am not trying to re-create TIWTG. It is also where I started so I fully understand the nostalgia, but looking back, there are also things I personally feel could be done differently, hence I wanted to make my own thing. I fully expect some people will prefer TIWTG, but hope some might preffer my approach.

I would love that, but am short on beginners. :smiley: feel free to point any you encounter to my (well our) web as well, so they can let us know later :slight_smile:

Yes, all good thank you. :slight_smile: I have also incorporated your recommendations. Thanks again

3 Likes

Hmmm… I can see the coordinates now, but only barely. The font is way too thin. I’m not 20 anymore, and neither are my eyes, so can we make the lettering a little bolder? Thanks.

Greetings Adam,

A thoughtful and gracious response. I understand your wishing to reach to newer players and giving them options. Also it is good to have different sites. I am a firm believer that there is not just one way to learn most things.

My idea for people who do not play would be to get a few friends who do not play GO and have them try both. And give feedback. I will have to refer some folks to your site when I meet people interested in the game. : ))

Best wishes I hope it is a success!

4 Likes

I’m with you. Such nice resource.

Thank you guys for the time and attention.

1 Like