People who enjoy being insulted should read Trevanian’s “Shibumi,” a satirical spy novel that disparages nearly every ethnicity, occupation and political body in the modern world. The author calls it a “bitter pill” written only to fulfill contractual obligations and afterward “there was no point in me writing further in this genre … or anyone else, for that matter.”
Only a few things escape unscathed, including caving, the Basque, Japan before the West corrupted it after World War II and the ancient board game of Go. Curious about the descriptions during my years of global travel, I found Basque food a letdown and the beauty of Japanese gardens something I don’t properly appreciate (spelunking is, of course, awesome). But the description of Go as the light of existence with life a mere shadow held the real intrigue.
“Go is to Western chess what philosophy is to double-entry accounting,” the protagonist, who happens to moonlight as an assassin who kills with “weapons” like pocket combs and disposable cups, explains at one point. The American he’s addressing this to has no idea it’s the most vulgar insult imaginable.
I knew a little about this game that looks like Othello on a larger board thanks to a friend who played consistently on the newspaper’s computers at my college, therefore boosting my career since I ended up shouldering the duties he was supposed to perform as my editor (in Trevanian’s world that probably makes me the guy who gained the world and lost his soul, but I digress). I was – and am – a hardcore chess fan, and couldn’t imagine a game where players alternate placing black and white stones on a board matching that complexity.
Still, I gave it a try on a few computers over the years, hoping in vain to find a program offering insight and not just a computerized opponent. I hadn’t perused the App Store since buying my iPod, but when Beginner’s Go showed up as a new release the urge resurfaced to expand my horizons with something that’s the antithesis of Zombie Infection.
Beginner’s Go isn’t the most in-depth Go tutorial app and you can’t play actual games – some alternatives for those are at the end of this review. But it does a superior job of leading rank beginners such as myself through the basics and some “simple” problem solving, without feeling like playing the game well is so complex as to be unattainable.
The course is “taught” by Ishikura Noboru, described as “a regular lecturer on the Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s weekly TV Go program.” Thankfully there’s no cartoonish animations of him lecturing or otherwise assisting, just easy-to-read type and clear illustrations as material is covered in small bites (but not too small, a drawback of another program mentioned below).
The app is divided into commentaries, problems and a dictionary (it’s always fun in a gaming column noting “atari” basically means “in danger of obliteration”). The commentaries outline rules and strategies, beginning with a small nine-by-nine board and progressing gradually to the regulation 19-by-19 size. The first lessons also give the player an initial handicap of stones, something likely to occur in newbie matches against an experienced human opponent. The program suggests starting with a nine-stone handicap against a human opponent, since you can’t lose if you move correctly. I doubt I’d find much thrill in winning and would be utterly humiliated if I lost, but the purpose of such exercises – and good training for the necessary Go mentality – is ensuring you have proper focus and discipline. Like karate, it’s not so much about brute strength as making sure every muscle executes moves with exact precision every time (these rambling rants should be convincing evidence such discipline goes against my nature, which is the reason for seeking it since, supposedly, the biggest growth comes from confronting weaknesses).
The commentary stage isn’t passive, since simple interactive problems are presented throughout. The interface works well after a quick adjustment period, with a small section of the board magnified in a scrolling window when you touch the screen. Correct moves are subsequently explained as they are replayed, and the program keeps track of lessons fully or partially completed. All of the lessons and problems are detailed in a chapter of contents and can be accessed in any order.
The problems section is best tackled after the commentaries, since even the first one involves a strategy ending 13 moves later. Indeed, that’s one of the principal challenges of Go compared to chess – while the former is limited to binary gameplay, it also requires the advanced player to think many more moves ahead. The more open board format also requires an advanced player to be an artist, ruthless strategist and disciplinarian at the same time.
Beginner’s Go offers only a few dozen lessons and problems, and a reasonably intelligent person should be able to complete them in a few hours. It provides an adequate foundation to start playing real games but, like learning a language, also will likely impart a sense of how much there is to learn to play skillfully. People interested in the game will hopefully see this as a good thing; those put off by the game’s description aren’t likely to be converted to the cause.
The $2.99 price may seem steep considering how quickly the material can be covered, but a useful introduction to Go for the price of a latte is a bargain on any scale outside the App Store. Those completing Beginner’s Go and looking for more lessons should invest in SmartGo Pro, which is a steep $12.99 but comes with 2,000 problems and a library of more than 20,000 professional games. I found the introductory material less accessible than Beginner’s Go, and the problems lack Beginner Go’s introductory and followup narratives. One big advantage of SmartGo is the ability to play games against a computer opponent on boards of various size. Bargain alternatives are SmartGo 9X9, offering more than 100 problems and small-board play for 99 cents, and SmartGo with the limited problem library and play on boards up to regulation size for $2.99.
Purists looking for the best artificial opponent should try Aya Go for $2.99, which also has a user interface I find superior enough to SmartGo to justify the purchase. It’s worth noting a few App Store customer reviews complain about crashes.
Being a modernized and materialistic Westerner, I can’t say Go is going to replace chess as my ancient wargame of choice anytime soon. But there’s real satisfaction in understanding and being able to play after years of incomprehension, which is certainly more than enough mental jolt to skip a dose of caffeine and milk for a day.
By Mark Sabbatini
Beginner’s Go by Unbalance Corp.
$2.99
Platform Reviewed: iPhone/iPod (Requires iPhone OS 3.1 or later)
Category: Board
Language: English/Japanese
Rated 4+
2.5 MB
