ST Format


Go

Categories: Review: Software
Publisher: Oxford Softworks
Machine: Atari ST

 
Published in ST Format #22

Go

Go

Phew, here's a really old game. Go is thought to have originated over 4,000 years ago, so it's about time it came out on the ST (as Confucius, the well-known Go addict, might have said).

The board is made up of a grid with 361 intersections. The idea is to capture as much of the board as possible by enclosing sections with your counters. If you surround your opponent's pieces they change to your colour. The game is over when both players agree they can't expand their territory any more. Points are scored depending on the number of points enclosed and prisoners captured.

All the elements of the real game are included - liberties, illegal suicides, eyes, false eyes (no, really!) and live groups are all there. You can also save games and load them up later, give hints and swap sides. The program can even play against itself. Go is surprisingly good fun. It's a very simple format, but then chess doesn't look massively complicated to the untrained eye. Gameplay is fast and the control method is easy. Not everyone's cup of tea, but a lot more fun than Backgammon or sawing your leg off with a lettuce.

Go