Tips to win on 5×5

Last updated: October 2, 2026

The 5×5 board has just five lines each way. A game takes a few minutes, which makes it perfect practice for beginners. Here are five tips to help you start beating the AI on 5×5.

1. Play your first stone in the middle

The more liberties a stone has, the harder it is to capture (see “The four rules in detail”). A stone in the middle of the board has four, but a stone on the edge has three and a stone in the corner only two. On a board as small as 5×5 every stone is close to an edge, and stones played on the edge are surrounded in no time.

One white stone is enough to put the black stone in the corner in atari. If White plays A, it is captured. A stone in the middle would take four white stones to capture.

If you are Black, start at the very center of the board (tengen). A stone in the middle can grow in every direction. As White, too, play as close to the center as you can.

2. Keep your stones connected

Stones of the same color that touch up, down, left or right merge into one group and share their liberties. A single stone in the middle has four liberties, but two connected stones have six and three in a line have eight. Connected stones are strong stones that are hard to capture. In Punigo, connected stones merge into one shape, so you can see at a glance whether your stones are connected.

When your stones are scattered, they can be surrounded and captured one at a time. If you are not sure where to play, play where you connect to your own stones.

3. Never miss an atari

The 5×5 board is small, so the fighting starts right away. After every move your opponent makes, check whether any stone is in atari. If an opponent stone is in atari, capture it. If one of yours is, run, or save it by capturing a neighboring opponent stone. Stones in atari look worried, so the faces help you notice. “Capturing and escaping” explains capturing and escaping with diagrams.

4. Cut your opponent's stones apart

If connected stones are strong, keeping your opponent's stones from connecting matters just as much. Play between their stones to cut them apart, and your opponent has to defend two small groups instead of one.

Two black stones with one point between them. A is the point Black needs to connect.

If White plays 1, Black is split into two. If Black had played A first, they would have stayed connected.

The point where you want to connect is exactly where your opponent wants to cut. Whoever plays such a point first gains from it.

5. At the end, leave two eyes and pass

Toward the end of the game, fill the area you have surrounded with your own stones. When you do, always leave two separate empty points (two eyes) inside your group. With only one eye left, even a big group can be captured whole.

An example of a finished game. Both Black and White have left two separate eyes.

For more on eyes, read “Living and dead stones”.

When you start winning

Each time you beat the AI on 5×5, the “Next game” offers a slightly stronger opponent. Once you beat 20 kyu on 5×5, move on to 6×6 and 7×7. Bigger boards call for some new ideas on top of these tips. → Tips for 7×7 and 9×9