Go!!!
Does anyone else play this game?
I love chess too, but I think go is better than chess in several ways - simpler rules, better balance between strategy and tactics, more flexible with varying board sizes, and an effective handicapping system. It's a very analytical game, but also very visual and can be played more on feel than chess, IMO.
It's been featured in movies like Pi, and for the most part has a kind of quirky intellectual reputation in the US, but is a mainstream and extremely popular game in Japan.
I learned in high school, and haven't played with a real person in several years but have started thinking about it again because the computer programs have gotten a lot better in recent years. A few years ago, they were basically unplayable. Very very stupid. Now, at least for an average player, they'll give you a pretty good game. Still nowhere near as good as chess programs, but decent. Here's the software I use on OS X. It's free, Cocoa, and uses GNU Go, which has gotten a lot stronger in the past year, even in the past couple of months. You can also play over at Yahoo games, but the level of competition is extremely unreliable.
Here's a brief introduction to the game.
I love chess too, but I think go is better than chess in several ways - simpler rules, better balance between strategy and tactics, more flexible with varying board sizes, and an effective handicapping system. It's a very analytical game, but also very visual and can be played more on feel than chess, IMO.
It's been featured in movies like Pi, and for the most part has a kind of quirky intellectual reputation in the US, but is a mainstream and extremely popular game in Japan.
I learned in high school, and haven't played with a real person in several years but have started thinking about it again because the computer programs have gotten a lot better in recent years. A few years ago, they were basically unplayable. Very very stupid. Now, at least for an average player, they'll give you a pretty good game. Still nowhere near as good as chess programs, but decent. Here's the software I use on OS X. It's free, Cocoa, and uses GNU Go, which has gotten a lot stronger in the past year, even in the past couple of months. You can also play over at Yahoo games, but the level of competition is extremely unreliable.
Here's a brief introduction to the game.
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Oh yeah, Georgia Tech jumped across the I-75/i-85 connector. There's a huge new development called Technology Square. I was there today buying the book "Eric Meyers On CSS". Best day to go is Sunday afternoon, parking outside the Barnes & Noble is plentiful (but it's metered).