Gomoku Rules - How to Play Five in a Row
One empty intersection, one stone, one alternating turn. Build an unbroken line of five or more before your opponent does.
The board and the first move
This version of Gomoku is played on a 15×15 grid, giving the game 225 intersections. Black moves first. Put one black stone on any empty intersection, then White puts one white stone on an empty intersection. From that point onward the colors continue to alternate, one stone per turn, until someone wins or every intersection is occupied. The board is a grid of crossing points: a move belongs on a point, not inside a square. On the screen, click or tap an open point to place your stone.
The first player and the black stones are not two separate rules. Black always makes the opening move in a new game, then White replies. In an online room, the seat selected as first moves first, while stone color still follows move order: the first move is black and the second is white. A player cannot take two consecutive turns, and a stone placed during a turn is final for that position.
How to win
You win immediately when your newly placed stone completes a continuous straight line of at least five stones of your own color. A winning line may run horizontally, vertically, diagonally down-right, or diagonally up-right. It cannot bend around a corner, skip an empty point, pass through an opposing stone, or combine two directions into a curve. Only uninterrupted stones on one of those four axes count.
This is freestyle Gomoku, so a line of six, seven, or more also wins. The win condition is “five or more,” not exactly five. The engine checks the full connected line through the new stone, so an overline is a win rather than a foul. A move that creates more than one winning line is still simply a winning move; the game ends as soon as the move is accepted.
Legal moves and rules that are not used
A legal move is straightforward: choose one currently empty intersection when it is your turn. Stones never move after placement. There are no captures, jumps, flips, exchanges, or removals. Gomoku uses neither Go territory nor a ko rule. It also has no pass button because passing would only surrender a valuable placement and is not part of this implementation’s board rules.
Some tournament forms of five-in-a-row use Renju restrictions for Black, including forbidden double-threes, double-fours, or overlines. Those restrictions do not apply here. There is no opening swap, no forced center opening, and no special prohibition on a particular threat shape. You may make a double threat, an overline, or any other move as long as the point is empty and it is your turn.
Draws and practical controls
The game is a draw only when all 225 intersections are filled and neither color has made a line of five or more. That is rare because a long board creates many crossing possibilities, but it is the complete board outcome. If a winning line appears before the board is full, the result is a win; later hypothetical moves do not matter. Resigning or starting a new game are interface choices, not additional ways to score the board.
For local play, pass the device after every stone so the other player makes the next placement. Against the computer, you place your color and the AI responds after its turn. In a friend room, wait for the live position to confirm whose turn it is. The same core rules apply in all three modes: one stone per turn, no captured stones, and five or more in one straight line wins.
Try the rules on a live board
Start with the computer, share a device locally, or open a room for a friend.