Go Beyond Rules
Game Overview
GoBeyond is an strategic game of influence, economy, politics, and prestige. Playing it is a fascinating adventure in multiple dimensions and far-reaching influence.
Test the limits of your foresight by maneuvering tactically on a mind-bending map!
GoBeyond™ is inspired by the classic game of Go (aka WeiQi or Baduk).
However, GoBeyond™ is an experience like no other because it introduces the additional dimensions of time and topology — and even the possibility of multiple players. This game requires quick thinking, foresight, flexible strategy, balancing long-term and short-term goals, and has room for a variety of offensive and defensive tactical approaches.
Furthermore, because GoBeyond™ uses only intellectual skill, as opposed to fast reflexes, fine motor control, or reliance on luck, every player will feel their mind challenged and expanded by playing. The key to “leveling up” your game is inside your own mind.
Although this game has simple rules, you will discover that is has virtually unlimited strategic depths.
Game Terms
GoBeyond is played on a map that is formed by connecting various Nodes to each other. The configuration of Nodes and their Connectors create the Map. This Map can be nearly any topology, like these below.
You may feel interested to know that this Map can be nearly any topology: square grid (just like Classic Go), hexagonal grid, Goldberg Polyhedron (extended “soccer ball” pattern on a sphere), toroid (“donut”), or anything else that the imagination can devise.
Theoretically, a Map could even be 4- or N-dimensional. Although, that would be challenging in terms of physical representation in our 3-dimensional world.
Wavy, 2-D board
Sugar Cube,
a wrapped square grid
Space Donut, Torroid
Goldberg Polyhedron
Honeycomb, a hexagonal grid
Game Sequence
Quick Overview
At the start of GoBeyond™ the Nodes on the Map begin as Empty.
During the game Nodes may be Empty OR a player may Occupy, Claim, or Reserve a Node
Players each begin with a set number of PlayPoints (e.g. 200).
Turn duration—time limit—is established for the game (e.g. 20 seconds).
Turn order is established and does not change during the game.
Starting with the First player and proceeding in turn order, each player takes their turn.
>> Each player’s turn follows these phases:
1) Reserved Nodes: Convert to Claimed
2) Claimed Nodes: Award PlayPoints to the Player
3) One Action: Optional, within time limit
4) Apply Effects: Update the Map based on the Action
A detailed look at each phase
1) Reserved Nodes: Convert to Claimed:
In this phase, any Nodes that have been Reserved by this player are converted into Claimed Nodes. Note that under the current rules, it is uncommon (but likely to happen a few times in any given game) to have a Reserved Node. Even so, any Reservation is dropped, leaving such Nodes as “Claimed”.
2) Claimed Nodes: Award PlayPoints to the Player
In this phase, all the Nodes that have been Claimed by this player are counted and that number of PlayPoints are awarded to the player. In a winning game strategy, it is vital for a player to garner PlayPoints in this manner. The same Claimed territory that gives this “passive income” will, at the end of the game, deeply affect the final score.
3) One Action: Optional, within time limit
In this phase, the player may perform one action, provided they can pay the cost:
a) Occupy an empty Node — cost: 10 PlayPoints
b) Skip (no action). — cost: 0 PlayPoints
c) PASS (no action, signals desire to end game) — cost: 0 PlayPoints
d) Resign (forfeit game) — cost: 0 PlayPoints
NOTE: If no action is selected before the time limit is reached, their turn is Skipped.
The time limit for the player’s turn is selected at the beginning of the game. If the player does not proactively select an action within this time limit, zheir turn is Skipped (no actions, no effect, no cost).
4) Apply Effects: Update the Map based on the Action
In this phase, the consequential effects of the player’s action are applied to the Map. Skip, PASS, and Resign have no effect on the Map, per se. They can have the effect of ending the game, however.
The only way to affect the Map is to Occupy a Node. If the player tries to Occupy a Node that is Reserved or Occupied, or is deemed an illegal move (See the “no self-capture” rule later), that choice is rejected and the player returns to phase 3 (with no refund for time!)
Effects of occupying a Node can be:
Captures — 10 PlayPoints given per each captured stone.
Claims — 1 PlayPoint (potentially!) if still Claimed at start of next turn
Reservations — No other player may play this Node while it is Reserved
Game Rules — Play Points
In the game, score is kept by tracking each player’s score as PlayPoints. You can think of the PlayPoints as your investment account. Spend the PlayPoints to place stones; garner PlayPoints by capturing stones and claiming territory.
Here’s how to gain PlayPoints:
• When the game starts, each player starts with some PlayPoints (e.g. +200).
• For a handicap game, additional PlayPoints are given to (typically) the weaker player at the start of the game (e.g. +20).
• At the start of a turn, the player receives 1 PlayPoint for each Claimed Node.
• During a turn, 10 PlayPoints are awarded to the player for each Captured Stone.
• During the clean-up phase, 10 PlayPoints are awarded for each surrendered Stone.
• At the end of the game, each player receives 10 PlayPoints for each Claimed Node.
Here’s how to spend PlayPoints:
• Once per turn, at a cost of 10 PlayPoints, a player may Occupy an empty Node
Game Sequence
Turn Order
Play proceeds, following the turn order established at the beginning of the game until players make N+1 PASSES *in a row* (where N is the number of players). NOTE: If a player has Resigned, zhey always “PASS”
Once N+1 consecutive PASSES have occurred, and if there is more than one player who has not Resigned, the Game goes into a special Clean-Up phase.
Clean Up
During the Clean-Up phase, players surrender stones that they consider “doomed” (i.e. stones that would inevitably be captured if play were to continue). When such stones are surrendered, Points are given to the player who (eventually) Claims the territory where the surrendered stones had been. As with an explicit capture, 10 PlayPoints are given per surrendered Stone.
Final Score
Once all Doomed stones have been surrendered, Claimed Nodes are recalculated and each player receives a bonus *10* PlayPoints per Claimed Node (10x the start-of-turn rate).
NOTE: This final Bonus will often be the biggest factor in overall Score at the end of the Game.
If a tie occurs, each Player receives a Tie-Breaker Bonus (“Komi”) of (0.1 x Turn Position)
NOTE: This only matters if, at the end of the game, players are tied. This breaks all ties.
NOTE: Turn order, therefore, dictates that earlier players will lose a tie.
Declaring a Winner
At the end of the game, after the final score is tallied, The Winner is the player with the most PlayPoints. In case of a tie, the tie is broken by Komi, as described above. In this way, all tied scores are resolved.
In tournament games, establishing 1st, 2nd, 3rd places, etc. should be easily accomplished.
Note that in the case of resignation, the resigning players are relegated to the lowest placement available at the time they resign. For example, in a 5-player game, the first to resign is considered 5th place, the 2nd to resign is awarded 4th place, etc.
Game Rules
Fundamentals
Although The Game Sequence includes considerations of Turn Order and PlayPoints, fundamental to the game is the process of calculating the effect of Occupying a Node.
The Rules for this are straight-forward.
For the sake of providing examples of the rules, we’ll focus on 2-dimensional Maps.
However, these rules apply to any topology used for the Map.
Groups
First, we define a Group of Stones, which relies on the concept of adjacent Nodes. If two Nodes are connected by a connector, then they are adjacent. If two adjacent Nodes have the same-color stones, then they join together to become a single group.
>> Definition of a Group of Stones
A Group is one or more stones of the same color connected via adjacency.
Each stone on the board is, at a minimum, a group of one. If another same-color stone is played adjacent, then that stone, too, joins the group. So, by transitivity, many stones may be in a single group when there is an adjacent connection between the Nodes that have the same-color stones. Here are some examples of groups.
Groups of White and Black Stones
- Two Black Stones are adjacent and form a single group
- The 3rd Black Stone has no adjacent Black stones and
is a “group of one” - Two White Stones are adjacent and form a single group
- The 3rd White Stone has no adjacent White stones and
is a “group of one”
Larger Groups of White and Black Stones
- 3 Stones were added to the single Black Stone to make
an L-shaped group of four - 2 Stones were added to the single White Stone to make a group of three
- A single White Stone was added, which is a group of one
Game Rules — Group Capture
Groups are fundamental to understanding the consequences of moves.
Groups of same-colored stones will share fate (“live or die together”) based on the number of adjacent empty nodes (aka “liberties”) that they collectively have.
>> Rule of Life
Each group of stones must have at least one liberty (adjacent empty-node)
in order to remain on the map.
- If a group has at least one liberty, then it remains on the map.
- If a group has no liberties, it is removed from the map, and the nodes that had been occupied by that group become empty again.
This leads to an immediate corollary rule.
>> Capture Rule
If an opponent’s stone is played on the last remaining liberty
for a group of stones, then that entire group, with no remaining liberties,
is captured and removed from the map.
Here is an example of groups and liberties in a game.
The Black L-shaped group of 4, somewhat surrounded by White, has just two remaining liberties. However, the single White stone to its right has only one liberty remaining.
What if Black places a stone on the last remaining liberty of that White stone?
Surround to Capture
If Black plays to occupy that last liberty, then that singular White Stone now has ZERO liberties. The Rule of Life requires at least one liberty in order to remain on the board, so the White stone must be removed. It is captured.
Only Emptiness remains
Once the White stone is captured and removed from the map, that Node becomes empty. Also, notice that the node is completely surrounded by Black. No White stone can remain on that Node.
Game Rules — Empty Regions
As in the examples above, groups of stones sometimes surround empty nodes. One or more empty nodes that are connected, transitively, by adjacency form an empty region.
>> Definition of an Empty Region
An Empty Region is one or more empty nodes connected via adjacency.
Just as with groups of stones, an empty region will share a fate (claimed or disputed) based on the stones that surround it.
- If an Empty Region is surrounded by exactly one color of stones then that region is claimed by that color.
- If an Empty Region is surrounded by more than one color of stones, then that region is considered disputed.
>> Empty Region Claim Rule
If an Empty Region is surrounded by stones of exactly one color,
then that Empty Region is claimed by that color; otherwise, it is disputed.
To gain points in the game, a player must claim empty regions. To do this,
a player must create groups of stones that surround empty regions.
Black stones have surrounded two distinct empty regions, and those nodes are therefore claimed by Black (the claimed nodes are marked with a black diamond shape).
White stones have surrounded an empty region, and this region is claimed by White (the claimed nodes are marked with a white diamond shape).
Note that there are empty nodes that are completely surrounded by both white and black stones. Since more than one color of stone is surrounding those nodes, then those nodes remain disputed.
As mentioned in the earlier section, a player receives points at the start of each turn based on the number of nodes that player has claimed in this fashion.
Game Rules — Special Circumstances
The Basic Definitions and Rules described above (for Groups of Stones, for Capture, and for Claiming Empty Groups) cover more than 96% of all game situations. However, there are a few special circumstances that must be addressed with some additional rules.
Game Rules — No Self-Capture
Although your opponent can play to occupy the last liberty of one of your groups, it is forbidden that you, yourself, play a stone that eliminates the last liberty of your own group.
It may seem entirely unnecessary to make this a rule–after all, who would want to, essentially,
forfeit their own stones? However, the situation arises in many games, and this rule does prevent certain degenerate strategies from being used.
>> No Self-Capture Rule
If a stone is placed such that no opponent’s stone is captured, and the
placed stone becomes part of a group that then has no liberties,
then that placement is deemed illegal and must be withdrawn.
In simpler terms, this means that a player cannot place a stone on the last remaining liberty of their own group (unless: in doing so, they capture an opponent’s group).
The black group has only one remaining liberty. In this situation, the black player may not place a black stone on that remaining liberty.
The white player, however, can place a stone there because it would capture the black group. However, for the black player, placing a stone on that node is not a permitted option.
Game Rules — Reserved Nodes
Another situation that arises in many games is one in which a certain node becomes tactically valuable to both players, and both players consider it a high priority to control that node.
When this occurs (and the tactical situation is “just so”), it could lead to a back-and-forth capture volley that stalls the game perpetually. For that reason, we add a rule regarding the declaration of a Reserved Node that applies in such a circumstance. Recall: when a node is Reserved, no player may place a stone on that node. The status as a Reserved node persists until the start of the active player’s next turn.
>> Reserved Node Rule
If a legally placed stone captures exactly one stone,
and the placed stone forms a “group of one” with only one liberty,
and that liberty (the adjacent, freshly captured, empty node) is claimed
by the color just placed, then that claimed, empty node is deemed Reserved.
With some reflection, you might realize that, without this rule, there might be a ping-pong style capture-recapture-recapture-etc. sequence that could continue indefinitely. The rule is much like the “no tag-backs” rule in a game of tag. The rule requires that a player make a move (progress!) elsewhere in the game (anywhere else!) before moving to recapture the volatile node. Consider the example below.
In this situation, there is a white “group of one” that has just one liberty. Black is permitted to play on that last liberty because in doing so, the white stone will be captured.
When black places that stone, the white stone is captured. Furthermore: (1) exactly one stone was captured, (2) the newly placed stone is a group of one with exactly one liberty, and (3) that liberty is claimed by black. These 3 conditions cause the captured node to become Reserved (Note the “force field” visual effect).
White cannot immediately play on the Reserved node to re-capture the single black stone. However, if white plays elsewhere first (and black chooses not play on that key node), then white can play to capture the black stone. In capturing that singular black stone, white has now created a Reserved node.
Game Rules — Completeness
and Unlimited Possibilities
With the rules as described above, the entire game is played. These rules are complete and sufficient for all situations, using any topology, and with any number of players, to play the game of GoBeyond.
That being said, the variations of legal play gives rise to a host of interesting tactical and strategic possibilities. The variations of play that are possible are, essentially, unlimited. You can play many games throughout your lifetime and never play the same game twice. For this reason, we consider the tactical and strategic possibilities in this game to be virtually unbounded.
You are free to explore and discover any and all possibilities in order to discover what works best for you. Any opponent you face in a game will also be learning and discovering what works for them. In this exploration, you will face perpetually interesting challenges. If you become comfortable with a certain style of gameplay, you may quickly discover that other players can adapt to that habit. It behooves you to continually evolve your tactics and strategy in order to keep your edge.
Feel free to jump in and play (it’s “only a game”!). Each game you actually play will help you learn about what works and what does not. No amount of research can match the learning you will experience by simply playing a lot of games.
If you do want to start out with a tactical edge, keeping reading here to get a little bit of a head-start about tactics and strategy.
Game Tactics — Learning Lessons
There are so many variations of game situations that any tactical guide will certainly be incomplete. Still, it is worthwhile to learn how to handle some common tactical situations. You would, no doubt, eventually learn to deal with these situations on your own.
This (brief!) tactical guide offers a “quick start” for a few situations that are all-too-common.
- Creating Shape
- Closing a Potential Cut
- One Eye
- Two Eyes
- Red Flags
- Against a Wall
- Unkindest Cut of All
- Ladder
- Nest
- Depleted Eye
- Snap-Back