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Go , also known as Weiqi , is an ancient board game originated in China more than 4,000 years ago. Today Go is played by millions of people around the globe.

Beyond being merely a game, Go is an analogy with life, an intense meditation, a mirror of one's personality, and a beautiful art form. Like the Eastern martial arts, Go can teach concentration, balance, and discipline.

To learn more about this popular and ancient game, please visit American Go Association and British Go Association. Want to get started right away? Visit The Interactive Way To Go.

Pocket GNU Go is a GNU Go player for Windows mobile devices, including Pocket PC and Smartphone.

Pocket GNU Go was initiallly created by Ivan Davtchev from Harvard University based on GNU Go 1.2, developed by Man Li and others. Later Alex Seewald from the Austrian AI Research Institute upgraded it to a more advanced AI, using GNU Go 2.6. Ivan Davtchev added multithread capabilities and upgraded it to GNU Go 2.6.2. To further separate the backend GNU Go engine and front end user interface development, Sidney Liu from Vieka joined Pocket GNU Go project and also looked over the maintainence, support and promotion responsibilities.

The plan for front end is to include SGF viewer, editor, and recorder functionalities, or maybe a better graphics. And the objective for backend is to port GNU Go 3.2 engine to Pocket PC, enable GTP protocol communication in Pocket PC, and if possible, separate out the pattern database so the whole GNU Go engine is less resource hungry, more flexible and extensible. Adding multiplayer capabilities is also relatively easier.

If you are interested in participating in this project, or have any questions or suggestions, please contact gnugo@vieka.com. Many thanks go to Vieka for their kind support.

Some screenshots here.

• The lastest version for Pocket PC is Pocket GNU Go 2.6.5. For your convenience, downloads are also available in .CAB file format for ARM, MIPS and SH3.

• The lastest version for Smartphone is Pocket GNU Go 2.6.5. For your convenience, downloads are also available in .CAB file format for ARM.

Download Source Code

• You can download Pocket GNU Go Source for version 2.6.3.
• The very latest Pocket GNU Go Source
• The lastest Pocket GNU Go Engine Source for version 3.2 is also available, along with a Pocket GTP Client utility for testing out the GNU Go engine capabilities. Compare to the original GNU Go 3.2, this version adds a network option so that GNU Go Engine can listen directly on the network for any communication request using GTP protocol.
• The lastest modified GNU Go Engine Source version 3.2 for desktop PC is available here, along with a GTP Client utility on desktop PC for testing out the GNU Go engine capabilities. Compare to the original GNU Go 3.2, this version adds a network option so that GNU Go Engine can listen directly on the network for any communication request using GTP protocol.
• One interesting benefit is that GTP client on desktop PC and Pocket PC can communicate with both GNU Go Engine on desktop PC and Pocket GNU Go Engine on Pocket PC. If you have a GNU Go Engine running on a PC, you can use Pocket GTP Client to connect to that GNU Go Engine and play Go on your Pocket PC!
• You can browse bleeding edge CVS source code here. For more interim development information, please visit Pocket GNU Go CVS repository.

Revision History:

• Pocket PC 2.6.5 is released. Pocket PC version now supports variety of screen resolutions, including the default QVGA (240X320), landscape QVGA (320X240), Palm Treo square screen (240X240), real VGA (480X640) and real VGA landscape (640X480). Pretty much all known Pocket PC devices in the market now should be supported.
• Smartphone 2.6.5 is released. Smartphone version now supports variety of screen resolutions, including the smartphone default (176X220), landscape QVGA (320X240). Pretty much all known Smartphone devices in the market now should be supported.
• Smartphone 2.6.4 is released.
• Pocket PC version 2.6.3 is released.

Rules of Go and basic comparison. By default, GNU Go uses Japanese rules of Go.

Here is SGF File Format, designed to store records of board games.

GNU Go 3.2 documentation.

You can discuss Pocket GNU Go here if you have any questions and suggestions.

DISCLAIMER:

This program is provided free of charge, and you may download it, copy it, modify it, and redistribute it; all by agreement with the GNU General Public License, Version 2. Before retrieving, modifying, or using the program in any way, you should read the GNU General Public License mentioned above and agree with it. This involves, but is not limited to, agreeing that the program comes with NO WARRANTY: Because the program is licensed free of charge, there is no warranty for the program, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Except when otherwise stated in writing the copyright holders and/or other parties provide the program "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the program is with you. Should the program prove defective, you assume the cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction.