Pente

Pente is five in a row with captures. Players place stones on a 19×19 board. You win by making a line of five, or by capturing ten of your opponent's stones.

Rules

• The game is played on the points of a 19×19 board.
• There are two colours, black and white, and black places the first stone.
• Players take turns placing one stone of their colour on any empty point.
• Stones never move, but they can be removed by capture.
• As in Gomoku, your colour can change during the opening.

Captures

• When you place a stone that closes off exactly two of your opponent's stones in a line, you capture both and they are removed from the board. The pattern is your stone, two of theirs, then your stone, along a row, a column or a diagonal.
• One stone placed can capture in several directions at once.
• A single stone, or three or more in a row, can't be captured.
• Placing a stone into the gap to make a pair between two enemy stones is safe. Only the stone that closes the pattern makes a capture.
• Captures count in the opening too.
• The capture count belongs to a colour. If players swap colours in the opening, they also swap the captures made so far.
• Each player's capture count is shown beside the board.

Opening (swap2)

Pente uses the same swap2 opening as Gomoku:

1. The first player places three stones: black, then white, then black.
2. The second player then chooses one of three options:

• Stay white and place the next white stone.
• Swap to black.
• Swap2: place one white stone and one black stone, and leave the choice of colour to the first player.

After a swap2, the first player either stays white and places the next stone, or swaps to black.

Normal play follows, one stone per turn.

How to win

You win the moment you do either of these:

• Make an unbroken line of five or more of your stones. The line can be horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
• Capture ten of your opponent's stones (five pairs).

If the board fills up with neither requirements met, the game is a draw.