Gomoku rules on 5Row

Gomoku — five in a row, known in Vietnam as Caro — is a two-player game with one goal: get five of your stones in an unbroken line before your opponent does. These are the exact rules a 5Row match runs on.

The board

The board has 19 columns and 15 rows. Columns are labelled A through S and rows 1 through 15, so each square has a short name such as H8. Cells are square, which makes the board wider than it is tall and gives horizontal lines more room to grow than vertical ones. The centre square is J8.

Turn order

Crosses move first, then players alternate. On your turn you place one stone on any empty square. Stones are never moved and never captured. Playing on an occupied square is not a legal move and does not pass the turn.

Winning

A player wins the moment five of their stones form an unbroken line in any of four directions:

• horizontally, along a row
• vertically, down a column
• diagonally down and to the right
• diagonally up and to the right

The two-end rule

5Row supports the Vietnamese two-end rule (luật 2 đầu). When it is enabled, a line of exactly five does not win if both ends are blocked by opponent stones.

• A five with at least one open end wins normally.
• A run of six or more wins even when both ends are sealed.
• The board edge does not count as a block: a five that reaches the edge wins.

The rule is on by default. Your Two-end rule setting is used when you create a room or look for a match, and an online match keeps the rule it started with; in practice games you can switch it from the in-game menu. While it is on, a small indicator appears in the top player bar so both players can see which rule set is in force.

Draws

If every square is filled without a valid five, the game is a draw. Either player can also offer a draw from the settings menu, and the match ends in a draw if the offer is accepted.

Resignation and the clock

Resigning ends the match immediately as a loss. Each player also has a per-move countdown shown to the left of their avatar; letting it reach zero on your own turn loses the game.

Ranks

Every player starts at 1200 ELO and never drops below 1000. The rank follows the rating: Beginner (below 1300), Bronze (1300), Silver (1400), Expert (1500), Master (1600), FIDE Master (1800), International Master (2000), Grandmaster (2200) and International Grandmaster (2400).

New to the game? Start with how to play Gomoku, then read Gomoku strategy. If you already know standard Gomoku, Caro vs Gomoku explains what the two-end rule changes, and the Gomoku rules guide covers the other rule sets you may meet.