Go is an ancient game which, from its forgotten origins in China, spread first to the rest of East Asia, and then to the entire world. How ancient? Historians aren't sure; it has a definite history of over 3000 years, but according to tradition Go was invented more than 4000 years ago. The English name comes from the Japanese name Igo, which means "surrounding boardgame".
In this game, each player tries to use threats of death, capture, or isolation to assert control over more of the board than his opponent. An abstract strategy game at heart, Go has nonetheless been interpreted as a stylized representation of fighting a war, settling a frontier, cornering a market, thrashing out an argument, or even of fortune-telling and prophecy. Go has always been one of the most played games in the world. Top-level international competitions can make the best players millionaires.
The simplified rules of Go: Each player, starting with black, takes turns placing stones. White receives compensation for going second. A group consists of adjacent tiles of the same color, as in stones connected on their top, bottom, left, or right sides. Surround another player's groups to capture them, removing their pieces from the board. Empty territory surrounded by a single player's groups is considered theirs. Pass when you do not believe you can obtain more territory. When both players pass consecutively or one resigns, the game ends. Generally, the player with the most territory wins. Full rules, strategy, and context for Go can be found at senseis.xmp.net.
The game engine is GnuGo 3.8. The default configuration uses a board size of 17, no handicap, white compensation of 6.5 points, and Chinese scoring. The player starts as black, and the AI starts with level 1. These can all be changed; ask for configuration help to find out how. The most difficult AI level is 6, which corresponds to the fairly easy Kyu 10 rank (against CrazyStone) - handicap up to 9 can be used to simulate more difficult gameplay. AI difficulty is limited to avoid excessive delays in AWS Lambda.
The game will be saved after each move without requiring special action. Each Amazon account (e-mail address) will share the same game, so that you can access it across multiple devices. Only one active game is allowed per account, and it will currently be erased after starting a new game.
You may use the NATO phonetic alphabet to improve voice recognition, e.g. "Alexa, place at Bravo 2", "Alexa, Quebec 14".
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