<p>The number of stones for a board is meant to be effectively infinite. The typical procedure if players run out is to exchange captured stones in equal quantities and continue with them. </p>

<p>This means that enough stones so that either player could completely fill the board is guaranteed to be enough stones. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-13T21:31:18.453Z
"...enough stones so that either player could completely fill the board..."  This is not how the large game (19x19) allots stones, preferring to split the board size between black and white, and giving the last stone to black.
user138719
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-14T00:17:57.437Z
@user138719 that is true, because while it's the absolute maximum that could be placed, that board state isn't really logical, so in practice you don't need quite that many. It's merely an upper bound.  It means that 9 stones per player is guaranteed to be more than you need for a 3x3 grid.
Arcanist Lupus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-14T17:39:00.773Z
@user138719 In a full size board it isn't likely that a game will be so one sided that they need more than half the board in any color, here though that's probably closer to 2/3 of the board as a reasonably safe number.
Andrew
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-15T18:16:08.960Z
Perhaps “effectively infinite” is better (less worrying to pedants like me).
PJTraill
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-15T18:21:35.083Z
@user138719: I also believe that experience shows that, on a larger board, once a mildly competent player has occupied half the points they have won.
PJTraill
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-13T20:48:44.360Z
2018-12-15T19:17:17.410Z
2018-12-15T19:17:17.410Z
Arcanist Lupus
<p>I would recommend to use Chinese scoring, where prisoners are given back to your opponent.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Go is played on a 19x19 board and comes with 181 black stones and 180 white stones. This is to accommodate filling every spot on the board with a stone. </p>
</blockquote>

<p>Think about this: you'll never fill every spot in a game of go. Also, technically it is possible that one player might end up with more than 181 occupied spots. 180 is just a reasonable number that accomodates most scenarios.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-16T22:35:31.977Z
2018-12-16T22:35:31.977Z
Christophe
<p>I think you could follow the same formula you've listed for other boards and you will be fine. That is black gets half the square of the number of lines rounded up and white gets half the square of the number of lines rounded down. </p>

<p>In a regular game you will not need more stones. That may not be true for go variants.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-14T16:35:01.067Z
2018-12-14T16:35:01.067Z
BBS
<p>I know the full-size game of Go is played on a 19x19 board and comes with 181 black stones and 180 white stones. This is to accommodate filling every spot on the board with a stone. I want to know if there are suggestions for (much) smaller boards.</p>

<p>While for other typical board sizes (9x9 and 13x13), I'm guessing we could adopt a similar rule for the number of stones to include (41/41 and 85/84, respectively), but what about very small boards?</p>

<p>I made this 3x3 novelty board for a friend, and I'm not sure how many stones to include with it. <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/jhw9e.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/jhw9e.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a>Because of the size, I am certain many games could involve a lot of capturing, and I wouldn't want him to run out of stones. He doesn't own a full-size game, so he has no pieces to use with this little board (we have been playing on my full-size board).</p>

<p>For folks who have played on small boards, how many pieces do you think I should include?</p>

<p>Extended Question: Do you have suggestions for other small sizes -- say, the 5x5 "<a href="https://senseis.xmp.net/?5x5Board" rel="nofollow noreferrer">capture go</a>", or some irregular sizes?</p>

<p>Edit: I'm not looking for a theoretical upper/lower bound on the number of stones, but rather a "from a practical standpoint, how many might I include to prevent players from having to borrow captured stones to continue playing" kind of number.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-15T17:10:28.063Z
You include exactly a single black stone for a 3x3 board. After that one stone is placed, it's game-over for white...
cmaster - reinstate monica
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-15T19:22:59.490Z
Note that I included a "star point" for the handicap game :)
user138719
<go><board-size>
How many stones for small go boards?
user138719
# How many stones for small go boards?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-12-13)

I know the full-size game of Go is played on a 19x19 board and comes with 181 black stones and 180 white stones. This is to accommodate filling every spot on the board with a stone. I want to know if there are suggestions for (much) smaller boards.

While for other typical board sizes (9x9 and 13x13), I'm guessing we could adopt a similar rule for the number of stones to include (41/41 and 85/84, respectively), but what about very small boards?

I made this 3x3 novelty board for a friend, and I'm not sure how many stones to include with it. [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/jhw9e.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/jhw9e.jpg)Because of the size, I am certain many games could involve a lot of capturing, and I wouldn't want him to run out of stones. He doesn't own a full-size game, so he has no pieces to use with this little board (we have been playing on my full-size board).

For folks who have played on small boards, how many pieces do you think I should include?

Extended Question: Do you have suggestions for other small sizes -- say, the 5x5 "[capture go](https://senseis.xmp.net/?5x5Board)", or some irregular sizes?

Edit: I'm not looking for a theoretical upper/lower bound on the number of stones, but rather a "from a practical standpoint, how many might I include to prevent players from having to borrow captured stones to continue playing" kind of number.

**Tags:** go, board-size

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You include exactly a single black stone for a 3x3 board. After that one stone is placed, it's game-over for white...  
> **username_0**: Note that I included a "star point" for the handicap game :)  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-12-13. Score: 4

The number of stones for a board is meant to be effectively infinite. The typical procedure if players run out is to exchange captured stones in equal quantities and continue with them.

This means that enough stones so that either player could completely fill the board is guaranteed to be enough stones.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: "...enough stones so that either player could completely fill the board..."  This is not how the large game (19x19) allots stones, preferring to split the board size between black and white, and giving the last stone to black.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 that is true, because while it's the absolute maximum that could be placed, that board state isn't really logical, so in practice you don't need quite that many. It's merely an upper bound.  It means that 9 stones per player is guaranteed to be more than you need for a 3x3 grid.  
> **username_3**: @username_0 In a full size board it isn't likely that a game will be so one sided that they need more than half the board in any color, here though that's probably closer to 2/3 of the board as a reasonably safe number.  
> **username_4**: Perhaps “effectively infinite” is better (less worrying to pedants like me).  
> **username_4**: @username_0: I also believe that experience shows that, on a larger board, once a mildly competent player has occupied half the points they have won.  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2018-12-16. Score: 1

I would recommend to use Chinese scoring, where prisoners are given back to your opponent.

> Go is played on a 19x19 board and comes with 181 black stones and 180 white stones. This is to accommodate filling every spot on the board with a stone.

Think about this: you'll never fill every spot in a game of go. Also, technically it is possible that one player might end up with more than 181 occupied spots. 180 is just a reasonable number that accomodates most scenarios.


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### Answer by username_6 on 2018-12-14. Score: 1

I think you could follow the same formula you've listed for other boards and you will be fine. That is black gets half the square of the number of lines rounded up and white gets half the square of the number of lines rounded down.

In a regular game you will not need more stones. That may not be true for go variants.


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