Free to play, no sign up
Play Gomoku tic tac toe free
Gomoku, also called Five in a Row or Gobang, is tic tac toe grown all the way up. The board is big enough that single tactics stop deciding anything. You win by building two threats at once and letting your opponent pick which one to lose to.
- Board
- 15x15
- Board
- Goal
- 5 in a row
- Goal
- Typical game
- 10 to 15 min
- Typical game
- Difficulty
- Heavy
- Difficulty
Move 0
Loading the board
Game review
How to play
How to play Gomoku
- 1
Take turns placing stones on any empty point of the 15x15 grid.
- 2
First to five in a row across, down or diagonally wins.
- 3
A full board with no five is a draw. In real games this basically never happens.
Strategy
What actually wins games
Learn the shapes. An open three has to be answered. An open four has already won.
A double three, where one stone creates two open threes, beats almost every defence.
Keep your stones close together. Scattered stones threaten nothing. Stones within two squares of each other threaten plenty.
Going second means defending first. Block early instead of trying to race.
Can you win it?
Gomoku was solved in 1994. Free style Gomoku is a first player win, which is exactly why tournaments add opening restrictions to even it out.
Try another board
All twelve gamesClassic
The 3x3 game everyone knows. Free, no sign up.
- Board
- 3x3
- Objective
- 3 in a row
- Typical length
- 1 min
Ultimate
Nine boards in one. Your move decides where they play next.
- Board
- 9x9
- Objective
- Win 3 boards
- Typical length
- 10 to 20 min
5x5
Twenty five squares, four in a row to win.
- Board
- 5x5
- Objective
- 4 in a row
- Typical length
- 3 to 5 min