How Go Is Scored
Area scoring (used on kawu)
Under Chinese rules, your score is:
- every one of your stones still on the board, plus
- every empty point surrounded only by your stones.
Empty points that touch both colours are neutral (dame) and count for nobody. White adds komi: 7.5 points, for moving second. The half point rules out ties.
Dead stones
At the end, stones that are surrounded and can't make two eyes are dead: they're removed before counting, and the points they stood on go to the side that surrounds them. On kawu the computer marks stones that look dead with a red ×; click a group to change your mind, then accept the score.
Territory scoring (Japanese rules)
Japanese rules count surrounded empty points plus captured stones, and komi is 6.5. Playing inside your own territory costs a point there, so players pass sooner. With area scoring that doesn't matter, which is why it suits a computer opponent and beginners.
Why pass?
Once all the borders are closed, a move inside your own area adds a stone but removes an empty point, so it changes nothing; a move inside the opponent's area just gives them a stone to capture. That's when both players pass.
Play Go and see the count at the end of a 9×9 game.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between area and territory scoring?
Area scoring (Chinese rules) counts your stones on the board plus the empty points you surround. Territory scoring (Japanese rules) counts only the surrounded empty points plus the stones you captured. They almost always give the same winner.
What happens to dead stones?
Stones that can't avoid capture are removed at the end. Their points count for the player who surrounds them, as if they had been captured during the game.
Last updated 2026-10-19