Customer Reviews

Learn to Play Go: A Master's Guide to the Ultimate Game, Vol. 1

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't get the superlative praises which have been lavished on this book. I became interested in Go recently, and if you've played the game at all, you realize very quickly that knowing the rules alone doesn't get you very far in terms of figuring out how to play it! Given that, I was looking for a beginner's book which goes beyond teaching the rules - which are fairly simple anyway, but also imparts enough guidance and insights in terms of strategy and tactics that a beginner would start to feel comfortable about playing it - what to look for, how does one approach different phases of the game, etc. Perhaps this is too much to ask of a single beginner book to Go, but I found this book particularly lacking in that regard relative to others of its kind. I didn't come away after finishing it feeling much more confident about knowing how to play the game as when I started reading it. I've browsed through Iwamoto's(?) "Go for Beginners" and found it to be a more complete introduction and just as straigtforward to follow. Since then, I've started reading the "Graded Go Problems for Beginners" series and found it to be the most helpful in terms of learning the game.

Not that the praises for this book is wholly undeserved. This is a very well-exposited introduction to the game. Whatever it covers, this book takes you by the hand and treats in a easy-to-follow manner. Coupled with the easy-on-the-eye layout, this may well be the gentlest introduction to the game that you can find. ("Go for Dummies" may be a more apt title as another reviewer has noted!)

In summary, my advice would be to consider this book if you are a complete beginner (ie. with no knowledge of the game) and find other introductions to be overwhelming. If you're attracted to the style of this series but are already familiar with the rules and the most rudimentary concepts like two-eyes, you will find starting with the second book of the series (which recaps and extends on the concepts introduced in this book) more fulfilling. Also consider the alternatives mentioned earlier.

This is the first book is a series of four (as of 2002) which are intended to help a potential player go from a complete beginner to a reasonable competent amateur. This is no trivial undertaking, for the simplicity of Go's rules hide and incredible complexity of play. Not only are bad habits hard to undo, but the gap between the lower levels of play are so large that it can be very discouraging to climb the first few hills.

What Janice Kim and Jeong Soo-hyun have done here is to present the central ideas of the game in a careful, step-wise manner that is readable by anyone from about nine years old on. If a parent were willing to take the time, he or she could use this book to learn enough to teach a much younger player. Yet the information presented is still substantial, covering the basics of life, forming territory, capturing, connecting, and Ko fighting. I hate to admit it, but I found a thing or two in it that I had forgotten.

Frequent examples and questions are provided so that the reader has many opportunities to test his or her knowledge. Little bits of Go history are provided as well. In the back of the book is a cardboard folding board and pop out playing pieces. These are a really too small for a playing adult, although they would make a neat lightweight traveling package for working out puzzles and playing in unexpected places. It does allow a child to get some practice playing before then investment in a decent board and pieces it made.

I have been recommending this series to people for some time, since really good texts for beginners are rare. However, I have never taken the time to read them from cover to cover. Having done so, I am quite impressed. I do think that at one should buy at least the second volume in this series as well. This book reads very quickly, and one needs a bit more for a fair start. One thing is certain, it would be hard to get a better start at the world's most popular board game.

I just finished reading Janice Kim's book, "Learn to Play GO" for the second time. It is fantastic. I bought the book based on a suggestion from somebody on the Yahoo game server. It's actually a funny story. I started playing the game after reading the rules very quickly. The rules I read made no mention of eyes. This, as you all know, caused me great pain when playing. I lost a 9x9 game 81-0. My opponent offered, "Do you want some advice?" I said, "Sure." His reply was simply, "Buy Learn to Play Go by Janice Kim." I bought it the next day and have since bought four more copies as gifts for friends. It's actually just a ploy on part to get more people to play with. ;-)

This was the first book I bought to learn Go. If you're looking for an introduction to the game, this book is a good choice. I wouldn't worry about others who claim this book is too shallow or easy. It gives you the fundamental tactics you need before you can appreciate bigger concepts. Other books don't do so well at explaining beginning concepts because they forget what it is like to be a beginner and brush over concepts too fast.

One word of caution: Go proponents love to say how simple the rules of Go are. However, they are ignoring scoring issues which make the rules complex. As a beginner, it is very confusing to know how to end a game because of "dead stones". The authors don't even touch on this issue until almost half-way into the book, where they explain a real game. Unfortunately, the only words the authors give at this point are "Dead stones are taken out at the end of the game. It is not necessary to play extra moves in order to capture them." A little more explanation would have been nice. They don't even mention what kind of scoring they are using (Japanese), which punishes you for playing extra moves.

If you've always been curious about Go but have been intimidated by confusing books, this is the one for you. Most books that claim to be for beginners are too cluttered with jargon and concepts that are too advanced. This book avoids over-complexity. It is the perfect book for people who are curious about this great game. Reading this book helped me improve, and it left me hungry for even more go. Now I'm a go addict!

I've read many of the "beginner to Go" books, and this is easily my favorite. Some seem to think that this is lacking in information. Not so! I think that it's perfect in content so as not to overwhelm the novice. When you're ready for more, just read on in the next book of the "Learn To Play Go" series (up to Volume 5 as I write this).

If any of your friends play go, they could explain to you the information in this book in about an hour or two. You could skip to the book of problems by Kano Yoshinori without hurting yourself. I believe in thoroughly covering the basics, so I bought this book after reading KY's book, and it was too simple for me. I read it in a few hours.

I do not want to cast a negative light on the series. The later books are probably more advanced, and the instruction is crystal clear. If you want the simplest and most straight-forward instruction you can get, this is probably it.

One good thing about this book is it gives Japanese, Chinese and Korean terminology. It also introduces some famous go players and tells the history of go.

This book is very straightforward, and the answers are very easy. But it does answer alot of questions that beginners with absolutely no knowledge of go have - how to capture, what is a liberty, and some of the essential jargon. One should easily jump into the next book with very little effort, so I would recommend renting this part of the series. Its too bad they didn't combine Vol. I and II, but the writing style is very clear and easy to disgest. Overall, a wonderful series.

Buy it. I've dabbled and screwed around with learning Go a couple of times over the years, but every other introduction I've looked at has left me more confused than enlightened. Not so with this book--clear, concise, thorough, and even humorous, and almost dripping with the authors' infectous excitement for the game. And it even includes a cardboard game set! You can't go wrong. (I'm working on Vol 2 now, and it looks just as good.)

I have read this book and although I understood the basic concepts of the game ahead of reading the book, I found the information interesting to read.
If you are looking for a book that will make you an instant expert in the game of GO than you are mistaken. I have learned reading this book, and attempting to practice the stategies taught that this book provides you with an introduction.
The book also states that to really improve your skills you will need to study the moves in this book. I find that this is only have of the truth. You will need to study the moves and strategies and play, play, play. Learn to use them, and most importantly learning to see them.
I found the book very interesting and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the game of GO. I will be purchasing the second book just as soon as I have learned all I can from the first.