Go

Go is a two player abstract strategy board game where the objective is to surround more territory than your opponent. Players take turns placing black and white stones (known as 'go-ishi') on a square grid, capturing opponents stones when they become surrounded by their own. Believed to be the world's oldest board game, go was invented in China as early as 2356 BCE but is thought to have been more likely invented in the 2nd millennium BCE. The game is most widely identified with Japan, where the game was likely taken in 500 CE, rose to popularity during the Heian period (794-1185), and was established as a profession with the Tokugawa period (1603-1867). After World War II, the popularity of the game became a worldwide phenomenon.