If your looking for a thread about a new game with great graphics but poor game play you might want to take a hike. Go is pretty old and the origins of it are still up for debate, but what is for certain is that it is insanely popular in the eastern cultures.
[excerpt (1) possible origin]Some legends trace the origin of the game to legendary Chinese emperor Yao (2337–2258 BC), who had his counselor Shun design it for his son, Danzhu—supposedly an unruly sort—to teach him discipline, concentration, and balance. + Show Spoiler +
This game has been starting to get a good grasp of the western culture as it can be seen in movies such as A Beautiful Mind and Pi.
If your the anime type, there is a Japanese anime based completely on the game of go called Hikaru No Go
The premise of the game and rules may seem simple when first looked at, but as you delve deeper you'll start to understand the complexity of this deviously, strategical game.
Now if your ready to try this game out there are great software programs that will save you the trouble of buying an $8,000 kaya board (=.
Now when you get into these servers you'll realize k's and d's. For the time being just assume that the letter d means death. In short though both servers are home to great players who will go the extra mile to help out rookies and those seeking to become stronger.
ahhh it's time for the annual Go thread already? well anyways if anyone wants a game or tips from a fairly inactive 8-12k (seriously, probably anywhere in that range at any given day) hit me up on a PM or shymon on kgs.
To play on IGS you need to download glGo (available from the site I linked) and register an account, IGS has quite a lot of users but the average level is pretty high (for a beginner). Still, you can find enough beginners there
To play KGS, you just go to the site and click play go. It's java, and you can play as a guest or register an account.
There's many, many other servers (search go servers on senseis.xmp.net for a list and description) - chinese, korean, japanese, but these two should be enough (IGS is international/japanese and KGS international).
1 apm in go is about right. People tend to play speed games at like 6 apm, at which pace the game kind of crumbles, but it does bring out and show your thought train.
I wonder how strong TL go is. If anyone wants a game, I'm available these days on weekends about 8 hours from this time to about 12 hours from this time, whatever that makes it for your time zone. Give me a pm