When a game of Go ends, somebody has to count. For many beginners this is the most confusing part of the whole game: the stones are all over the board, some areas look like territory, some stones look dead, and it is not obvious how the numbers are produced. This site uses area scoring, one of the two main ways of counting in Go. This article explains exactly how it works, so that the final result always matches what you expect.
The rule in one sentence
Under area scoring, your score is the number of your stones on the board plus the number of empty points surrounded only by your stones. White then adds komi, which on this site is 7.5 points. The higher total wins. Because komi has a half point, there are no ties.
That is the whole rule. Everything else in this article is about applying it correctly.
What "surrounded only by your stones" means
An empty point counts as yours if every path from it along the lines, through other empty points, reaches only stones of your colour. If a path from an empty area reaches both black and white stones, the area is neutral and counts for nobody.
This is a precise, mechanical rule, and it is the one the site uses when it counts. It means the computer does not decide which stones are alive or dead. It looks at the board exactly as it stands.
Why dead stones must be captured before passing
This is the single most important practical point on this site. Under the automatic count, a stone on the board is a stone on the board. If your opponent has a dead stone sitting inside your territory, and you both pass, that stone:
- counts as a point for your opponent, and
- makes the empty points around it reachable by both colours, so they may count for nobody.
So before you pass, capture every dead stone in your area. Under area scoring this costs you nothing: the stones you play inside your own territory count as points too, so filling your own area to capture a dead stone is score-neutral. Many players who come from territory scoring feel uncomfortable playing inside their own area. Under area scoring, there is no reason to hesitate.
How the game ends
On this site, the game ends when both players pass in a row. A pass means you have no useful move left. After two consecutive passes, the site counts the board using the area rule above and adds komi to White.
Before passing, run a short checklist:
- Every border between territories is closed.
- Every dead stone inside your area has been captured.
- Every neutral point between the two colours has been filled.
- None of your groups has a hidden weakness that filling the last points would expose.
If all four are true, pass. If your opponent passes first and something on the list is still open, keep playing until it is done.
Neutral points are worth a point
Under area scoring, a stone played on a neutral point counts as one point, because it is your stone on the board. That means the last few neutral points, often called dame, are real points here. Fill them alternately with your opponent before passing. The article on dame and neutral points explains the dangers of filling them carelessly.
Captured stones
Under area scoring, captured stones do not need to be counted separately. When you capture a stone, you remove it from the board, and that already changes the count: your opponent has one fewer stone, and the point it occupied usually becomes your territory. There is no need to keep prisoners aside.
This is one reason area scoring suits a website well: the board alone contains all the information needed.
Komi
Black moves first, which is an advantage. To balance it, White receives komi: extra points added to White's score at the end. On this site, komi is 7.5. The half point prevents ties. There is a separate article explaining why komi exists and how its size is chosen.
Seki under area scoring
In a seki, two groups share liberties that neither can fill without self-atari. Under the area rule, stones in seki count for their owners, and the shared empty points, which touch both colours, count for nobody. There is more detail in seki and scoring.
Area scoring and territory scoring give almost the same result
Many players have heard of territory scoring, where you count only surrounded empty points plus captured stones. It is natural to worry that the two systems give very different results. In practice they almost always pick the same winner. The difference between them usually comes down to at most a point, often related to who fills the last neutral point. The article on territory versus area scoring compares them in detail.
Positional superko and suicide
Two more rules round out the system used here:
- Positional superko: you may not make a move that recreates a whole-board position that has appeared before in the game. This removes endless ko loops.
- No suicide: you may not play a move that leaves your own stones without liberties, unless that move captures something first.
Together with area scoring and komi 7.5, these rules give a complete, unambiguous game that a computer can referee without disputes.
A simple counting example
Suppose, at the end of a small game, Black has 40 stones on the board and surrounds 5 empty points, while White has 36 stones and surrounds 0 empty points, and no other points remain. Black's area is 45. White's area is 36, plus komi 7.5, for 43.5. Black wins by 1.5 points. On a real 9×9 board there are exactly 81 points, so the two areas plus any neutral points always add up to 81, which is a handy way to check your count.
Counting during the game
You do not need to wait for the end to use this rule. Estimating the score during the game helps you choose between safe and risky plans. A quick method is explained in counting during the game.
Practice
Play 9×9 games against the computer on the home page and pay attention to the final count each time. Before passing, walk through the checklist. After a few games, finishing cleanly becomes automatic. If you sign in on the account page, your games are saved, so you can replay any ending that surprised you. Against people on the online page, the same clean-finish habit avoids disputes and lost points.
Frequently asked questions
What is area scoring?
Your score is your stones on the board plus the empty points surrounded only by your stones. White adds komi.
Why must I capture dead stones before passing?
Because the site counts the board as it stands after two passes. Dead stones left on the board count as alive.
Does playing inside my own territory lose points?
Not under area scoring. Your stones count as points, so playing inside your own area is score-neutral.
What is komi on this site?
7.5 points for White. The half point means there are no ties.
Do I need to keep captured stones?
No. Under area scoring the board alone determines the score.
