I’ve been playing 5x5 Go regularly with four OGS players for the last couple of months, and I have to say I’m really enjoying it!
Komi is 0, and black playing at tengen isn’t necessarily the advantage you’d think it is. Best played with analysis turned off too. We’re not computers, we’ve not solved it ourselves, so we’re unlikely to play perfectly!
It’s pretty much a race to make a single living group and mistakes are immediately punished. Given the choice at the moment, I’d choose 5x5 over any other size for enjoyment.
Anyone else play 5x5? I’m feeling like it’s great practice for making and denying living groups in a tiny space.
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I suppose there’s nothing wrong with playing 5x5 at 25k/24k… but before long solving it in your head becomes trivial and black wins 100% of the time.
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Sounds fun. When you get to the point that Black wins all the time, give 5x6 a go at 4 komi! 
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5x5 sounds like an instant tsumego ^___^
I don’t think i’ve never played on 5x5 before, but it sounds fun :3
Agreed! Thanks for sharing! I love 5x5 go! I’m still a beginner so perhaps that’s why. It has not yet become like tic-tac-toe where I instantly know how to win or force a draw. Great for quick fun games over dinner. I also found Masaaki Fukui’s book on using 5x5 go to better your game, so I also use it for Tsumego puzzles, which is also a blast!! I also prefer playing 9x9 over the larger boards, so perhaps I’m just a non-conformist! HAHA!
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I start new players on 5x5 then once they learn how to win as black, I move them up to 7x7 → 9x9 → 13x13 → 19x19.
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