Sabaki

Go is one of the most complex and simple games ever invented, which is a bit of a conundrum. As it happens, the game itself has very simple rules, but there are so many possible moves and situations that, as a whole, Go becomes incredibly complex. On the other hand, at least it’s very simple to learn, even if you may never manage to become a master.

Sabaki is a very simple and functional Go simulator and editor that allows you to play and improve your knowledge of the game by analyzing specific moves and strategies. The tool comes with a variety of customization options and settings that allow you to put your wildest ideas into practice, as well as save board states in order to look at them later.

However, you can also play the game with another human player just like you would in real life, except that you must use the same mouse to place the stones. It’s not very practical, but then again Go is not a very alert game, so it shouldn’t be a huge problem. On top of that, you don’t have to worry about losing pieces or various other problems that might arise by playing the real thing.

The application comes with a few advanced tools as well, tools that allow you to customize the board and create hotspots, write reviews, draw schematics and annotate positions as you desire. There’s also a scoring utility that features two different algorithms, depending on whether you want to calculate the score by counting area or territory.

All of these goodies may sound like they are designed for true hardcore players, but the truth is that anyone can easily reach them and make use of their power. This is mainly thanks to the very simple interface, but it’s also because there are no complicated menus to shuffle through. Everything is kept as neutral as possible, including the board itself.

Sabaki is the kind of application that can serve as a game or an editor, depending on what your goals are. However, the truth is that it excels in both areas, and it does so as elegantly as possible.