but you have to play your own stones, so only komi should be decided, colors shouldn’t be switched
Or you wouldn’t be able to become “2-7 Master”
Or you mean change color of same stones?
This is my idea:
- Ko Go - game is a null result unless there is at least one ko fight in the game. You could even go further and say a player cannot win unless they have started at least one ko fight. Could lead to some interesting different plays from usual as both players know there will be ko, so will want to maximise ko threats even more than usual, chose variations that lead to ko, etc. Will also give good ko training for regular games
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In that idea, how about Seki Go?
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Doesn’t start with an E.
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I think I would find it hard to motivate to avoid a null result. So why not: points are only scored for winning ko fights? One point if you win the ko… it would be even more chaotic though 
maybe too much
I saw some posts earlier about card driven Go, I didn’t know this existed already. I’ve been wondering if it might be possible to teach haengma to beginners: each card has some haengma on it and you must play some number of N cards per M moves (other moves are free) so must learn to use the haengma? The trouble I run into is how to deal a hand of cards and reshuffle etc
It would be cool to have “oh no I want to play a knights move but don’t have the card” situation, but that’s a specific experience. Maybe some open hand with drafting system if you want more normal Go? ie you can somehow manage the cards available to plan ahead
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What’s the point of having a ko, if both players only get points by filling the ko?
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points count ONLY if they are seki? 
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yeah good point, I didn’t think it through. I just don’t like null results as game design, it’s not motivating. Maybe normal score plus extra points for ko?
Don’t forget that if you’re losing in score on the board and there hasn’t been a ko, you just don’t play any kos and get a null result instead of a loss 
If you’re losing just start passing if there’s been no ko, that or always connect any potential kos or just give up the groups/stones 
But yeah I agree no result is not very motivating
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What if you extend the normal ko rule, saying that you are not allowed to fill on your next move after capturing a ko? (Or more specifically, all points disallowed only due to ko/repetition are also disallowed for the other side on the next move.) Seems like that would strongly encourage fights.
Alternative to komi:
(no komi, perfect equality)
there is delay before first move during which no one can do move.
and then timer activates. There is 1 timer of both players.
Black doesn’t play first. Who clicks first plays first. It may be black or white. (Then other player do move)
then delay again
and …who clicks first plays first
and so on
it is Simultaneous Moves Go in some sense but without new Go mechanics. If first pair is [b move, w move], second pair is [w move, b move] , it just works like b move, w move, b pass, w move, b move.
it may be more effective to move first but if you had no time to think it may be worse.
So it also realtime strategy with arcade elements in some sense
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heavy artillery.
(this is my bit. there are many funnier, but this one is mine.)
What if…captured stones were removed at the end of the next player’s turn? This would make the basic ko rule implicit, so there would be no need to remember the last move. You just wouldn’t get to play on your own dying stone:
This eliminates the unfairness of having to pick up captures while your clock is ticking, and it seems more polite and sanitary, since you never touch your opponent’s stones.
An interesting consequence would be that you wouldn’t get to play a snapback immediately:
In the position above, White would need to play a sente move elsewhere before returning to kill the three black stones. If there is no large enough threat, Black would live. In fact, many normally dead groups might actually be alive in the absence of big ko threats.
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A rule I thought would be good is for players to take 2 moves per turn. With 1 (maybe more) special stones that each player has that the opponent is not allowed to be within 2 liberties from.
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alternative to handicap stones when you play against two weak players at the same time:
you have to place stone in the same coordinate on both boards each move
if on at least 1 board you can’t do this move, this move is not allowed.
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Can the two weaker players see both boards? Can they communicate and collude?
it would be too hard for stronger player…
This sounds really fun 
wish I could have tried it back when I had a club full of TPK 
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After the first 4 moves, a move which would create a perfectly symmetric board position between white and black stones, is illegal. (in other words, mirror go is banned after the first 4 moves (ie, when most players are just laying claim to a corner))
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Japanese scoring but prisoners are worth 3 points each. punish bad invasions more and make go more about killing. Killing is fun.
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