Connect6 Rules - How to Play

Connect6 uses a 19×19 grid of intersections, not the smaller 15×15 board commonly used for gomoku. Black begins the entire game by placing exactly one stone on any empty intersection. That single opening is the only one-stone hand. Every following hand belongs alternately to White and Black and contains exactly two stones. The board records hands rather than treating every stone as an independent turn, which is the central rhythm to learn before you look for tactics.

On every later hand you choose two different empty intersections. The two stones do not need to touch, share a row, or sit near the last move. They may support one plan together, defend two unrelated areas, or combine attack and defense. A hand is legal only when it contains the exact number of required stones. In local and AI games, placing the second stone commits the hand. In an online room you first stage the pair, then confirm it; use Clear if you decide that pair is wrong before confirming.

A player wins by making an uninterrupted line of at least six stones of their own color horizontally, vertically, or along either diagonal. Seven, eight, or more in a row also win on this board. There is no capture rule: stones never move, disappear, jump, or get replaced. A line is checked when the hand is completed, so think about the relationship between both stones before committing them.

The game draws only if all 361 intersections are filled without either player making six or more. That outcome is unusual, but it explains why every placement must be on an empty point. A player may resign in local or AI play; resigning is a product control rather than a board rule. There is no territory scoring, no ko rule, no opening swap rule, and no special overline penalty in this implementation.

A useful way to audit a hand is to name both jobs before you place either stone. The first job may be to prevent an immediate six, close an open endpoint, or occupy an intersection shared by two lines. The second may be to develop your own diagonal, hold a distant escape square, or create a future pair. If both stones only answer the same local problem, inspect whether a distant threat remains unanswered. This habit also prevents a common beginner error: treating Connect6 as gomoku and assuming one defensive stone finishes the defense. A two-stone reply often changes the board in two separate places.

Coordinate language helps when playing with a friend. Columns run A through S and rows run from 19 down to 1, so an intersection can be discussed precisely. Yet a coordinate is legal only when empty, and a pair cannot repeat the same point. On the live board, staged online stones are not part of the position until Confirm is pressed. In contrast, the second local or AI placement immediately completes the hand. That interface difference changes confirmation, not the underlying rule that a later hand consists of two distinct empty intersections.