Daily Gomoku Puzzle — Win by Force
A new mid-game position every day. You must win in 2–3 moves: every move has to threaten five, so the reply is forced, until a double threat finishes the game. No sign-up, no timer.
Find the first forcing move for Black.
What is a daily gomoku puzzle?
Most tactics puzzles are one move long. These are not. Each day this page publishes a mid-game position where the side to move must win by a forcing sequence of 2–3 moves: every move must threaten five, so the defender has no choice but to block that point, and the sequence ends with a double threat that cannot be stopped. One wrong move and the opponent gets a free move — so the puzzle is about seeing the whole line, not just the first stone.
How the puzzles work
Every position comes from a real game played by a shapely but imperfect engine and is checked by a solver before publishing: the line must genuinely force a win, the defender must be forced to block at each step, and there must be no trivial five-in-a-row already on the board. The boards are mid-game positions with 22 or more stones, so the winning line is not obvious at a glance.
How to solve a puzzle
- Find a move that threatens five. Look for a stone that makes four in a row — that gives you exactly one winning point next move, which is why the opponent has to block it.
- Follow the forced reply. The board blocks automatically; your job is to find the next forcing move from the new position.
- Finish with a double threat. The last move creates two winning points at once; the opponent can block only one, and you take the other for five.
If you get stuck, the hint shows the next forcing move (or the winning points once the double threat is on).
A new puzzle every day
The puzzle rotates daily. Solve it on consecutive days to build a streak — streaks and solved days are stored in your browser only, with no account and nothing uploaded. You can also replay any puzzle from the archive below; archive attempts do not affect today's streak.
Puzzle archive
Want to practise the shapes first? Read the gomoku strategy guide and the openings guide, or play the computer on the main board.
Last updated: November 2026