How to Play
KachaPlay (kachaplay.com) is a free site for classic board and card games, played in your browser with nothing to install. This page is the guide to Gomoku (Five in a Row) and to how the site works overall — the three ways to play, and how levels, rating and in-game currency work across every game. Each other game has its own guide:
The rules of Gomoku
- The board is 15 × 15 lines. Stones are placed on the intersections.
- Black moves first, then players alternate. Stones are never moved or captured.
- The first player to line up five stones in a row — horizontally, vertically or diagonally — wins.
- If the board fills up with no five in a row, the game is a draw.
Forbidden moves (optional)
Gomoku gives black a real first-move advantage, so you can turn on the standard renju forbidden-move rules when you set up a game. With them on, three shapes are illegal for black only:
- Double three — a move making two open threes at once.
- Double four — a move making two fours at once.
- Overline — a line of six or more black stones.
A forbidden move is simply rejected: you play something else. Black then wins only with exactly five, while white still wins with six or more. With the rules turned off, five or more wins for either colour.
You choose this per game against the computer or in a friend room. Random online matches always play with forbidden rules off, so both sides always know what they are getting.
Three ways to play
Against the computer
Three difficulty levels. The computer plays on our server, so it thinks with the same rules engine that judges the game. Good for learning: nothing here affects your rating.
Online against a random opponent
Join the queue and you are matched with another player. These are the rated games — they are the only ones that move your rating, and the only in-game source of gems.
Against a friend
Create a room, then either share its link or send an invite to someone on your friends list; the invite lands in their message bell and one click drops them into your room. You pick the forbidden-move setting and the clock for the room.
The clock
Every game is played with no time limit, 5 minutes or 10 minutes per side. If you disconnect, you have a short window to come back before the game is awarded to your opponent.
Levels and rating
These are two separate tracks and neither can be bought.
Experience and level
| Result | Experience |
|---|---|
| Win | +30 XP |
| Draw | +15 XP |
| Loss | +10 XP |
Every game gives experience, including games against the computer. Each level takes 100 XP, and your level is derived from your total — it never goes down.
Rating
Everyone starts at 1200. Rating uses the standard Elo formula (K = 32): beat a stronger opponent and you gain more, lose to a weaker one and you drop more. Only online games — random or friend — change your rating; games against the computer never do. The leaderboard shows the top 50 registered players.
Coins and gems
| Game | Result | Coins | Gems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer · easy / medium / hard | Win | +50 / +150 / +400 | — |
| Computer · easy / medium / hard | Draw | +25 / +75 / +200 | — |
| Online | Win | +200 | +1 |
| Online | Draw | +100 | — |
| Online | Loss | −50 | — |
Your balance never goes below zero. Coins buy avatars and pay for take-backs against the computer. Gems are the scarce one: in game they come only from online wins, one per win, which is what makes a gem avatar a claim about your online record.
Coins and gems can also be bought, and there is an optional membership. Nothing you can buy affects your rating, your level or the outcome of a game.
Accounts
You can play as a guest with just a nickname — your progress is kept in that browser. Register with an email and you keep everything you have already earned, plus you can sign in anywhere, add friends and appear on the leaderboard.
玩法说明（中文）
KachaPlay（kachaplay.com）是一个免费的在线棋牌游戏网站， 打开浏览器就能玩，无需下载。本页是五子棋的玩法说明，也讲全站通用的规则——三种对战方式， 以及各游戏统一的等级、积分与游戏内货币算法。其余每款游戏都有独立指南：
五子棋规则
- 棋盘 15 × 15 路，棋子下在交叉点上。
- 黑棋先行，双方轮流落子；棋子不移动、不提子。
- 先在横、竖或斜方向连成五子的一方获胜。
- 棋盘下满仍无人连成五子，判和棋。
禁手（可选）
五子棋的先手优势是实打实的，所以开局设置里可以打开标准禁手规则。打开后，以下三种形状仅对黑棋非法：
- 三三——一手同时形成两个活三。
- 四四——一手同时形成两个四。
- 长连——黑棋连成六子及以上。
禁手点会被直接拒绝，换一步下即可。此时黑棋只有恰好五子才算赢， 而白棋六子及以上仍然算赢。关闭禁手时，双方五子及以上都算赢。
人机对战与好友房可以自己选是否开启禁手；在线随机对战一律不开禁手， 这样双方进场前就知道规则是什么。
三种对战方式
人机对战：三个难度。AI 跑在服务端，与裁决棋局的是同一套规则引擎。适合练习——人机不影响积分。
在线随机对战：进入匹配队列与其他玩家配对。这是唯一计积分的对局， 也是游戏内唯一产出钻石的途径。
好友对战：建好房间后，既可以把链接发给对方，也可以直接给好友列表里的人发邀请—— 邀请会出现在对方的消息铃铛里，一点即进你的房间。禁手与计时由房主设定。
计时：每局可选不限时、每方 5 分钟或 10 分钟。掉线后有一段重连时间，超时则判负。
等级与积分
这是两条互不相干的轨道，且都不能用钱买。
经验与等级：胜 +30、和 +15、负 +10 经验；所有模式都给经验，人机也给。每 100 经验升一级， 等级由总经验推导，只升不降。
积分：所有人从 1200 起步，采用标准 Elo 公式（K = 32）—— 赢强者加得多，输给弱者扣得多。只有在线对战（随机与好友）计积分，人机永不影响积分。 排行榜展示注册用户前 50 名。
金币与钻石
| 对局 | 结果 | 金币 | 钻石 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 人机 · 简单 / 中等 / 困难 | 胜 | +50 / +150 / +400 | — |
| 人机 · 简单 / 中等 / 困难 | 和 | +25 / +75 / +200 | — |
| 在线 | 胜 | +200 | +1 |
| 在线 | 和 | +100 | — |
| 在线 | 负 | −50 | — |
余额不会低于 0。金币用来买头像、以及人机对战里的悔棋。钻石是稀缺的那一种： 游戏内只有在线胜利产出，每胜 1 颗——这正是钻石头像能代表在线战绩的原因。
金币与钻石也可以购买，另有可选的会员。付费买到的任何东西都不影响积分、等级或胜负。
账号
只填昵称即可以游客身份开玩，进度保存在当前浏览器。用邮箱注册后，已有进度原样保留， 并且可以在任何设备登录、添加好友、进入排行榜。