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Goban User Reviews (13 posts)Write A Review
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Aug 29 2006
*****

MIKURO  Great program. Definitely the best IGS (Internet Go Server) client available. Plus, it has GnuGo integrated, so you can play against the computer (which is great for beginners).

The graphics are beautiful. Goban is by far the nicest-looking Go program I've seen on any platform. Very smooth and very subtle, like a real Go set.

However, this is actually not the Go program I use most. I prefer to play on KGS (Kiseido Go Server), which can only be done with the official KGS client (called CGoban). You can check out KGS at http://kgs.kiseido.com . I find the KGS server to much more friendly than IGS. It's especially good for beginners, or anyone of any level who wants to learn (or teach).

Bottom line: Goban is great. KGS is also great.  
(Version 3.2.12)

praisebury
+1
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Oct 29 2005

ANONYMOUS  disk image is mounting

but the program does not start

G4 os X2.8  
(Version 3.2.9)

praisebury
0
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Jun 3 2005

GüNTER  Disk image doesn't work.  
(Version 3.2.6)

praisebury
0
[ 1 Reply - Reply ]
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Jun 3 2005

MU ADMIN  Disk image mounts with no problems here.  
(Version 3.2.6)

praisebury
0

Feb 9 2005

DAVE  Connecting to the default server gives me '0 users' and the server disconnects after like 1 minute.

Comment on 'hell to learn'. Well, Go certainly is complex and difficult but that's precisely what makes it so great. It's actually pretty sweet... although tough. Also, don't think you'd ever really stop learning it. The basics are really simple but then... you'll never stop discovering.  
(Version 3.2.3 v65.3)

praisebury
0
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Feb 25 2005

DAVID  Establishing an account at one of the go servers takes some effort. They are not user-friendly at the admin level, almost as if they were designed to discourage participation. You submit an application to the computer, retrieve the email, connect, set up your account, get a confirmation, make the adjustments to your Sente client's prefs, and then finally reconnect where you will be asked to log in.

If you really want to play go, find human players. The Internet is fun but soulless. Visit the American Go Association (www.usgo.org) to locate a nearby chapter and to explore their advice on how to enjoy using the go servers.

bogiesan  
(Version 3.2.3 v65.3)

praisebury
0

Dec 8 2004

ANONYMOUS  "Goban" is the Japanese word for the board on which one plays Go, and prices for these border on the ridiculous (primarily because Gaia does not grow 700 year old plum-yew trees fast enough to meet demand). Sente's Goban is a virtual board which does a great many things, chief among them creating self-documenting Go games (Goban uses SGF files), watching or playing games on the major internet Go servers, replaying famous (and infamous) games of better players (or oneself), AND, LAST BUT NOT LEAST allowing you to humiliate yourself by playing against GNU Go 3.4 (or 3.6 if you download the latest) -- which plays at the level of any 12-year old Japanese kid who's played for a few years. Go software is notoriously inept and provides the current "next big challenge" in AI research, but GNU Go is a great way to learn the basics. Really, Go at the level GNU Go provides is not much more difficult than tic tac toe, once you learn to fire off more than one Kleenex deep layer of neurons. And, fortunately, even us 28 kyu idiots can see the beginnings of unimagineable depths that provides this game's eternal fascination. Go is hell to learn, but then so is chess, when the geeks cackle.  
(Version 3.2.2v65.2)

praisebury
+1
[ Reply ]
Dec 6 2004
*****

ANONYMOUS  This is absolutely great, I really recommend it. The person below is right, it is hard, but it isn't impossible. Persistence is the key, also realize that if you could win right off the bat the game would be no fun, the cpu opponent creates a challenger that is possible to beat but it takes work to do it.

also there is an online feature where you can play, observe games, chat, etc. so great to see top quality freeware like this.  
(Version 3.2.2v65.2)

praisebury
+1
[ Reply ]
Oct 28 2004
**...

ANONYMOUS  Nice looking piece of software. However, I play games for fun, not for indigestion.

Make it so a beginner who knows the rules can actually enjoy a game on the beginner boards. Currently, the only way I can play a game of Go is against myself, and I won't learn a lot that way. Maybe a suggested move option would help?

At least the complexity of Go means this isn't as retarded as chess games when it comes to turning away new players, but it makes a bloody good effort.  
(Version 3.2.2v65.2)

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0
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Dec 6 2004

ANONYMOUS  keep trying, go is hard but after tons of frustration i am finally winning---- or at least losing by less.  
(Version 3.2.2v65.2)

praisebury
0
Jan 26 2005

ANONYMOUS  i would posit, that like music, the amount of content in go is directly related to the effort required to understand it. play tetris, i will shed no tears  
(Version 3.2.3 v65.3)

praisebury
0

Sep 28 2004
*****

ANONYMOUS  The best Go client I've ever found.  
(Version 3.2.1v65.1)

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0
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Mar 6 2004
***½.

ANONYMOUS  Plays a Human/Computer, Human/Human and Computer/Computer game well. Internet play is fine, as well. The game gets very buggy when you try to analyze a game or work variations. That portion of the game is quite unstable with crashing and hanging on a spinning cursor. You'll find yourself force quitting often if you try to work out variations. I am looking forward to future versions. I think this is the best looking Go implementation and shows a lot of promise if the bugs are fixed. It would also be nice if there were a teaching mode, like a capture first or first three captured game on a 9X9 board. I don't know if the GNU engine will handle that, though.

In short - Stabilize the analysis tools and this thing would ROCK!  
(Version v59)

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Nov 16 2003
*****

NUTRIMENTIA  I think it's great. I'm just a beginner and being able to adjust the size of the board and play with as many handicap stones as I want allows me to tailor the game to play against the computer at a level where I can learn.

I haven't used the network features at all. It seems that there are two servers, but the busy one requires subscription fees? This is independent of the Goban application though and thus irrelevant. The Goban application is beautiful and fun to play. The Open/Save/Quit structure could use a little streamlining, but its hardly worth mentioning.  
(Version v57)

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0
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Aug 20 2003
*****

FLARCH  I concur. A great implementation for playing GO alone or over the internet!

I can't say playability isn't excellent just because i stink at the game. 8^)  
(Version v55)

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0
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May 16 2003
****½

LUIS RONCAYOLO  This is simply one of the best programs out there right now. As an interface to what is essentially a text-based system for playing GO online, it offers a stunning visual interpretation of the data that makes playing a pleasure. It is visually stunning and very easy to use. There are still some issues with occasional crashes, on occasion playing freezes up I have to log out of the IGS server and log in again in order to play, it doesn't seem to be able to initiate adjourning, and the ability to search for a player is limiting at times (it would be great if you could click on a name in order to respond to it). But it is SO far ahead of the other GO clients out there. Using this program is a great reason to learn GO if you don't know the game!  
(Version v52)

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0
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Oct 14 2002
****½

DWT  This Programm simply rocks! If you want to play Go on the Mac and possibly over the internet, this is the way to go.  
(Version v47)

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0
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