Editing Rules of Go (section)

=== Comparative features of the basic rules ===
The essential features of these basic rules relative to other rulesets are summarized here. Each of the differences is discussed in greater detail in a later section of the article.

What variation exists among rulesets concerns primarily Rules 7A, 8, 9 and 10.

* The basic rules use '''area scoring''', as in China and Taiwan, and as in the official rules of many Western countries. The main alternative is '''territory scoring'''. Though territory scoring is the system used in Japan and Korea, and is customarily used in the West, it is not possible to use territory scoring unless Rule 9 is replaced by a much more complex end-of-game rule. The goal of these basic rules is to present a simple system first. See {{section link||Scoring systems}} below.
* The basic rules require the players to "play the game out" entirely. Virtually all rulesets used in practice provide some mechanism that allows players to begin scoring the game before the final position (the one used to score the game) has been reached. In some cases, this is merely a convenience intended to save time. In others, it may be an essential feature of the game. In any case, explaining these rules might obscure the nature of the game somewhat for a person unfamiliar with it. See {{section link||Counting phase}} below.
* The basic rules allow ''suicide'' (or ''self-capture''). This is unusual outside of Taiwan and New Zealand. Inclusion of Optional Rule 7A is in line with practice elsewhere. See {{section link||Suicide}} below.
* The basic rules apply the rule of ''positional superko''. This, or a similar rule, is common in official Western rulesets, but not in East Asia. See {{section link||Repetition}} below.
* The basic rules do not contain any special exceptions for territory in a ''seki''. This agrees with most practice outside Japan and Korea. See {{section link||Seki}} below.
* The basic rules do not have a ''komi''. This is now unusual in even-strength games, but was common practice until the mid-twentieth century. A ''komi'' is a number of points, usually five to eight, awarded to White in compensation for moving second. See {{section link||Komi}} below.
* The basic rules make no provision for the use of ''handicap stones''. See {{section link||Handicap}} below.
* The basic rules do not specify a ''counting system''. A counting system is a conventional method for calculating the difference in score between the players (hence determining the winner). It may incorporate various devices, such as filling in one's territory after the game, or shifting stones on the board into patterns, which allow quicker calculation of the difference in scores.