Pente
Five in a row, or take five pairs off the board. Two ways to win, and they fight each other.
19×19 · five in a row, or five captured pairs · play a person instead
Your move
The first stone goes on the centre point — it is the only legal move.
Pairs taken:00· 5 wins
Moves
No stones played yet.
How to play Pente
- Black plays the first stone on the centre point. After that, stones go on any empty intersection.
- Five of your stones in a row wins — and unlike standard Gomoku, six or more counts too.
- Flank exactly two enemy stones between your new stone and one you already have, and that pair comes off the board.
- Capture five pairs and you win outright, whatever the lines look like.
- Moving into the gap between two enemy stones is safe — only the player placing a stone can capture.
Invented in 1977 by Gary Gabrel, a dishwasher in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and published by Parker Brothers in 1984 — though its ancestor is the far older Japanese ninuki-renju, "capture five". It is played on a Go board, and the capture rule fixes Gomoku's biggest flaw: a line that cannot be blocked can still be broken.
How to get better
A capture is a defence
Four in a row is only lethal while all four stones are still there. Taking one of them off breaks the threat and gains a pair at the same time.
Do not leave loose pairs
Two of your stones side by side with an enemy stone at one end and a gap at the other is a free pair for your opponent. Break the shape or fill the gap.
Two clocks, one game
Your opponent has to watch your lines and your capture count. Push both and they will run out of answers on one of them.
Step into the jaws
You cannot be captured by moving between two enemy stones. That square is often the strongest one on the board precisely because it looks suicidal.
Can three stones in a row be captured?
No. The capture is exactly two — a wall of three is safe, which is why building in threes is a defensive idea as much as an attacking one.
Does six in a row win at Pente?
Yes. Pente is scored freestyle: any line of five or more wins. That is the opposite of standard Gomoku, where an overline is worth nothing.
Why must the first stone go in the centre?
It is the standard opening restriction. Under the tournament rule the same player's second stone must also be at least three points away from the centre, which is offered here as a rule set — without it the first player's advantage is overwhelming.
The other games
Connect 4
Drop a disc, claim a column, line up four before they do.
Gomoku
Five in a row on a 15×15 grid. Simple to learn, ruthless to master.
Connect6
Six in a row, two stones a turn — the fair, modern cousin of Gomoku.
Hex
Join your two sides of the board. No lines, no captures, no draws.
Dots & Boxes
Draw a line, close a box, go again. Everything is decided in the endgame.