Goban

I've been using this program for quite a while, almost daily, and have been very happy with it. I have only used it to play against the computer, as I use KGS's client software when playing on the server. The only reason I have not given it a full 5 stars is that it could use some updating and minor feature adds/fixes. It comes with Gnu Go 3.7 built in, but Gnu Go is now up to 3.9. I have not attempted to download 3.9 and use it as an alternate player, to be fair, but my attempts to do the same with other Go game engines have all failed. Goban is fabulously easy to use as a game, or as a bare-bones SGF viewer. SGF files with alternate paths and on-the-board notations don't work quite so well. It would be nice if the SGF editing features were easier to use. (Attempting to use them at all is one of the few things that glitches the program up!) There are some features--such as using a timer--which apparently can't be activated at all. (I assume the clock only works for network play?) And a little documentation would have been dearly appreciated for these more obscure features. But it's free, so those are only observations, not complaints! For the price, this is a super-sweet little program which will let you enjoy a game against the computer (until you are about 10 kyu or so, at which point you ought to be able to kick Gnu Go 3.7's butt regularly) and give you access to view all those downloadable professional game files, and your own online game SGFs, with ease. Thanks so much for the program!

Go is a challenging board game, but rendering it for the Mac a total success. Clear, precise visuals and audio are complemented by a game that's quite difficult for beginning or intermediate players. The only thing you'd need is a "coach" option - if only to find a way to improve your Go skills. Outstanding.

Great program. Definitely the best IGS (Internet Go Server) client available. Plus, it has GnuGo integrated, so you can play against the computer (which is great for beginners). The graphics are beautiful. Goban is by far the nicest-looking Go program I've seen on any platform. Very smooth and very subtle, like a real Go set. However, this is actually not the Go program I use most. I prefer to play on KGS (Kiseido Go Server), which can only be done with the official KGS client (called CGoban). You can check out KGS at http://kgs.kiseido.com . I find the KGS server to much more friendly than IGS. It's especially good for beginners, or anyone of any level who wants to learn (or teach). Bottom line: Goban is great. KGS is also great.

disk image is mounting but the program does not start G4 os X2.8

Disk image doesn't work.

Connecting to the default server gives me '0 users' and the server disconnects after like 1 minute. Comment on 'hell to learn'. Well, Go certainly is complex and difficult but that's precisely what makes it so great. It's actually pretty sweet... although tough. Also, don't think you'd ever really stop learning it. The basics are really simple but then... you'll never stop discovering.

"Goban" is the Japanese word for the board on which one plays Go, and prices for these border on the ridiculous (primarily because Gaia does not grow 700 year old plum-yew trees fast enough to meet demand). Sente's Goban is a virtual board which does a great many things, chief among them creating self-documenting Go games (Goban uses SGF files), watching or playing games on the major internet Go servers, replaying famous (and infamous) games of better players (or oneself), AND, LAST BUT NOT LEAST allowing you to humiliate yourself by playing against GNU Go 3.4 (or 3.6 if you download the latest) -- which plays at the level of any 12-year old Japanese kid who's played for a few years. Go software is notoriously inept and provides the current "next big challenge" in AI research, but GNU Go is a great way to learn the basics. Really, Go at the level GNU Go provides is not much more difficult than tic tac toe, once you learn to fire off more than one Kleenex deep layer of neurons. And, fortunately, even us 28 kyu idiots can see the beginnings of unimagineable depths that provides this game's eternal fascination. Go is hell to learn, but then so is chess, when the geeks cackle.

This is absolutely great, I really recommend it. The person below is right, it is hard, but it isn't impossible. Persistence is the key, also realize that if you could win right off the bat the game would be no fun, the cpu opponent creates a challenger that is possible to beat but it takes work to do it. also there is an online feature where you can play, observe games, chat, etc. so great to see top quality freeware like this.

Nice looking piece of software. However, I play games for fun, not for indigestion. Make it so a beginner who knows the rules can actually enjoy a game on the beginner boards. Currently, the only way I can play a game of Go is against myself, and I won't learn a lot that way. Maybe a suggested move option would help? At least the complexity of Go means this isn't as retarded as chess games when it comes to turning away new players, but it makes a bloody good effort.

The best Go client I've ever found.

Plays a Human/Computer, Human/Human and Computer/Computer game well. Internet play is fine, as well. The game gets very buggy when you try to analyze a game or work variations. That portion of the game is quite unstable with crashing and hanging on a spinning cursor. You'll find yourself force quitting often if you try to work out variations. I am looking forward to future versions. I think this is the best looking Go implementation and shows a lot of promise if the bugs are fixed. It would also be nice if there were a teaching mode, like a capture first or first three captured game on a 9X9 board. I don't know if the GNU engine will handle that, though. In short - Stabilize the analysis tools and this thing would ROCK!

I think it's great. I'm just a beginner and being able to adjust the size of the board and play with as many handicap stones as I want allows me to tailor the game to play against the computer at a level where I can learn. I haven't used the network features at all. It seems that there are two servers, but the busy one requires subscription fees? This is independent of the Goban application though and thus irrelevant. The Goban application is beautiful and fun to play. The Open/Save/Quit structure could use a little streamlining, but its hardly worth mentioning.

I concur. A great implementation for playing GO alone or over the internet! I can't say playability isn't excellent just because i stink at the game. 8^)

This is simply one of the best programs out there right now. As an interface to what is essentially a text-based system for playing GO online, it offers a stunning visual interpretation of the data that makes playing a pleasure. It is visually stunning and very easy to use. There are still some issues with occasional crashes, on occasion playing freezes up I have to log out of the IGS server and log in again in order to play, it doesn't seem to be able to initiate adjourning, and the ability to search for a player is limiting at times (it would be great if you could click on a name in order to respond to it). But it is SO far ahead of the other GO clients out there. Using this program is a great reason to learn GO if you don't know the game!

This Programm simply rocks! If you want to play Go on the Mac and possibly over the internet, this is the way to go.