Five Stones — Gomoku Online
- Plays on
- Desktop · Phone · Tablet
- Price
- Free · no download · no sign-up
Five Stones is gomoku — five in a row — played with glossy violet and mint stones on a light maple board. Stones drop onto the crossings of the grid and never move again; the first to line up five of their colour across, down or diagonally wins, and the winning line lights up.
Gomoku is one of the oldest board games there is and the rules fit in a sentence: players take turns putting a stone on any free crossing, and the first to make an unbroken line of five or more wins. There is no capturing and no moving, so every stone is a promise — the game is about building two threats at once and seeing the other side's before they land.
Levels is an endless ladder against the computer. The first boards are a small 9×9 against an opponent that misses things; from level three the board is 11×11, and from level eleven the full 13×13. The computer weighs your shapes as well as its own and looks at your best reply before it moves, but it keeps a small chance of a slip, so every level can be won. From level ten, every other game the computer moves first.
Some boards have knots: dark spots in the wood, placed symmetrically and never near the middle. A knot is nobody's — no stone can go there and no line of five can pass through it — so the open space you counted on is suddenly two shorter lines.
Win a level and earn one to three stars depending on how few stones you needed — nine or fewer is three stars. The highest level you reach goes on the leaderboard. Lose or draw and the same board is waiting.
Two players is the classic game for two people on one phone, tablet or laptop, on the full 13×13 board with no computer.
The board and the stones are drawn in 3D in the browser, so there is nothing to install; the game is sized for a phone held upright and plays the same with a mouse.
How to play Five Stones
Make five in a row before the other colour does:
- Violet usually moves first; the pill at the top shows whose turn it is.
- Tap any free crossing of the grid lines to put your stone there.
- Five or more of your stones in a straight line — across, down or diagonal — win.
- Stones are never moved or taken, so block an open line of three or four before it becomes five.
- Dark knots cannot be played and break any line through them.
- Levels: beat the computer to go up; fewer stones used means more stars.
- Two players: take turns on the same device.
Game modes
| Mode | What changes | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Levels | An endless ladder against the computer. 9×9 on levels 1–2, 11×11 up to level 10, 13×13 from 11. Knots on some boards from level 8; from level 10 the computer moves first every other game. It gets sharper as you climb but never flawless. One to three stars per level; progress saved. | Anyone who wants a steady climb against a fair opponent. |
| Two players | Classic gomoku on a 13×13 board for two people on one device. No computer, no levels. | Two friends with one phone. |
Tips for Five Stones
- An open three — three in a row with both ends free — must be answered at once, or it becomes an open four nobody can stop.
- The winning move is usually a double threat: one stone that makes two lines of four, or a four and an open three.
- Stay near the middle early on; lines near the edge have less room to grow.
- When you block, block at the end that also helps one of your own lines.
- On a knotted board, count the room first — a line with a knot at five spaces can never become five.
Who made Five Stones?
Five Stones was built by crokocat game studio in 2026 — freestyle gomoku rules on a 3D maple board drawn in the browser, an endless ladder against a computer opponent that grows stronger without becoming perfect, bigger boards and knot obstacles, and a two-player mode for one device.
About this game
- Controls
- Tap or click a free crossing of the grid lines to put your stone there. On a computer a see-through stone shows where it will go before you click. A taken crossing does nothing. Back returns to the menu.
- Supported devices
- desktop, phone, tablet
- Developer
- crokocat
- Genre
- Board
- Release date
- September 2026
- Latest update
- September 2026
Related categories
Frequently asked questions
Is Five Stones free to play?
Yes. Five Stones is free on crokocat with no download and no sign-up — it runs in your browser on desktop, phone and tablet.
Is Five Stones the same as Gomoku?
Yes — it plays freestyle gomoku: five or more in a row wins, and stones are placed on the crossings of the grid. It is also known as five in a row, omok, caro and gobang.
Does six in a row count?
Yes. Five Stones uses freestyle rules, so any unbroken line of five or more wins.
How many levels are there?
The ladder is endless. The board grows from 9×9 to 11×11 and 13×13, knots appear on some boards, and from level ten the computer moves first every other game. Your level and stars are saved on your device.
What are the dark knots?
Knots are crossings nobody can play. A line of stones cannot pass through one.
Can two people play?
Yes — pick Two players on the start screen and take turns on the same device.
Guides & tips
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