Gobang(五子棋英文介绍).doc

Zhu 1(Claire) Yuan ZhuProfessor LynchHistory&Culture of GamesOctober 2 2015The Game of Wu Zi QiWu Zi Qi(五子棋), also known as Gobang or Gomoku, is a logic strategy board game commonly played with black and white pieces and 19x19 board (15x15 in some countries) with intersections from the game Go. The origin of the game has been debated but researchers have found evidence indicating China as its country of origin.The record of game Go can be tracked back to the era of Emperor Yao, approximately 4000 years ago. However, the game of Gobang is believed to be more ancient. Some evidence has indicated that the game of Wu Zi Qi was invented and spread among the common Chinese people even earlier than 2350 BC.Similar to the modern game Connect Four, Wu Zi Qi is a game of alignment. Players with black or white pieces place stones on free intersections on the board, The goal of the game is to line five pieces vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. “Wu Zi” means “five points” or “five pieces”, referring to the goal is to get five stones in a row. “Qi” is “chess”. Wu Zi Qi has always been more suitable for young kids and the elderly than for adults. Although the rules of the game were considered overly simple and completely free, Wu Zi Qi became one of the most favored games in China.However, Wu Zi Qi is not restricted to be played only on Go set. Considered a vastly expanded version of Tik-Tac-Toe, it can also be played on a piece of graphing paper with symbols such as “X” and “O”. Board games with similar rules can also be found in ancient Greece and pre-Columbian civilities of America.Wu Zi Qi In JapanAround 270 BC, Wu Zi Qi was introduced to Japan from China with the name Gomoku(五目並), meaning “five steps” in Japanese. During the development of Gomoku in Japan, traditional Chinese rules of playing Gomoku were found too simple and in great favor of black. After Kuroiwa Ruikou proved that there was a sure win for black as the beginner of the game, scientists in Japan started to replace traditional rules with new, more advanced rules. The first volume of this board game, Kakugo, appeared in 1858. Nevertheless, the society was still debating on the official name of this board game in Japan. People even conducted an open poll to decide what it should be called. In 1899, the first permanent Japanese Meijin, Goraku Takayama, formally named it “Renju”(连珠), and published it in Yorozu-Chouhou newspaper on December 6th, 1899. After that, Wu Zi Qi-players began to follow this more regulated system, the game of Renju has been widespread until the present. Developing in Other CountriesWu Zi Qi was brought into Europe around 1885 and became known by the name of “Spoil Five”. Instead of placing stones on intersections, players in Europe put them in boxes.In England this board game was called Gobang, which was adopted from Chinese 棋盘, which meanschess-board.”The Korean version of Wu Zi Qi is called Omok(). It was originated from Japan.In order to have more power on the White side, the Vietnamese version Caro had some strict rules, which has made it more flexible for White to defend.Gary Gabrel, a dishwasher atHideaway Pizza, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, invented a similar strategy game for two or more players called Pente in 1977. With checkerboard tablecloths at Hideaway Pizza, customers could play Pente while waiting for their orders to arrive. World ChampionshipsFounded on August 8, 1988, in Stockholm, Sweden, the Renju International Federation (RIF) holds and participates in international tournaments. Renju players have to follow RIFs standard rules during the games.Renju World Championships:/media/wc.phpGomoku World Championships:/media/gwc.phpTeam World Championships:/media/twc.phpOther information on competitions can be found on the official RIF tournament website: /media/tournaments.phpReferences“Board games History: the Japanese game ofGomoku”:/2009/10/20/board-games-history-the-japanese-game-of-gomoku/“The Renju International Federation”