Rules

How to play

Wall Go rules

Wall Go comes from the Netflix series The Devil's Plan: Death Room. It is a variant of Go, played on a 7×7 board by two or three players. A turn is two things: move one piece, then build one wall. Each step below comes with a diagram.

  1. 1The goal: claim the most ground

    Wall off an area. If the only pieces inside are yours, that area counts as your territory. The game scores once every piece is walled in, and the most squares wins.

  2. 2Opening: put your pieces on the board

    2 players: 4 pieces each. Two start on the board; you place the other two in the order red, blue, blue, red. 3 players: 2 pieces each, and you place all of them. Grey dots show where you can place.

  3. 3Moving: 0 to 2 squares

    Pick one of your pieces and move it up, down, left or right, 0 to 2 squares. Two squares can go straight or turn a corner. Grey dots show where you can reach. Moving 0 squares is allowed.

  4. 4Walls: build one after every move

    Once the piece has finished moving, build a wall on one of the four sides of the square it is on. You cannot skip this. The short faded bars are the four places a wall can go.

  5. 5Walls block everyone

    A wall works against every player, including whoever built it. The wall that closes off your territory can also block your own way out. The edge of the board counts as a wall.

  6. 6Territory: only your pieces inside

    An area fully enclosed by walls counts as yours if the only pieces inside are yours. If it is empty, or holds pieces from more than one player, it is neutral and scores for nobody.

  7. 7Breaking a wall: 3-player games only

    3 players: each player may break one wall, once per game. The wall has to be next to one of your pieces, and that piece can keep moving afterwards. The hammer marks a wall you can break. 2 players: this rule does not apply.

  8. 8Ending and scoring

    The game ends once every piece is enclosed in an area. Whoever holds the most squares wins; equal scores share the win.

Common questions

How is Wall Go different from Go?
Wall Go is a variant of Go (baduk): the goal is still to claim the most ground, but the method is different. Go is played on a 19×19 board where stones never move once placed, and territory comes from how the stones connect. Wall Go is 7×7, your pieces **move every turn**, and territory comes from walls rather than from the pieces themselves. There are no captures and no ko fights — once a wall is down it stays (bar the single wall break each player gets in a 3-player game). Far fewer rules, and a game takes about ten minutes.
Where does Wall Go come from?
It appeared on the Netflix series The Devil's Plan: Death Room as one of the challenges. The rules are simple but the play is deep, and a lot of people went looking for an online version after it aired.
Can I play on my own?
Yes — there is a solo mode with three levels of computer opponent. The computer works out which squares each side would reach first (a Voronoi split) and plays from that, rather than moving at random.
Do I need to download or sign up?
Neither. It runs in the browser, and local and solo play work fully offline. Online play creates a room under an anonymous identity — send the link to a friend and you can play together, still with no sign-up.
How many people can play?
2 or 3. In a 2-player game each side has 4 pieces; in a 3-player game each has 2. The 3-player game adds a wall break: once per game, a player may remove an existing wall.
What if it is my turn but my pieces cannot move?
Your turn is skipped automatically. Once all your pieces are sealed inside your own territory and nothing you do can change the result, play passes straight to the next person. When every piece is sealed in, the game ends and scores are counted.
Start playing

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Version v26.10.4