At lunch recently Jake challenged me to a game of Go. My Go fu is very rusty, and he cast a 20th level spell of whoop-ass on me.

Next time, I will be prepared.

Sen:te's Goban is an implementation of Gnu Go for OSX. This program may not be the better of those ageless spirits playing on park benches in China Town, but will help me train to meet them. Free, smooth and groovy features in abundance:

• Board sizes between 7 and 19 moku
• A handicap can be set, to the standard +9 stones for rank beginner
• Moves can be timed or free
• Stones can be labeled in their sequence of play, to see where you went wrong
• The software will attempt to score the game for you
• Play the AI, a Rendezvous opponent, or through a server
• Custom stone images possible

If you're not familiar with Go, it can be daunting. Over 4000 years old, a good overview is helpful, but it's a difficult game to summarize. My own mind fell back on patterns developed through years of chess, to my frustration and downfall. Those strategies are applicable, but only if transformed into a quest for territory, colonization, growth. Destruction and dominance as the battles of Queens, Bishops and Horsemen teach is not what Go is about.

Go will teach you about strategy as life, process, evolution. You will understand the strength of water and the weakness of stone. Just a few games and I've already remembered approaches to living I embedded below consciousness many years ago.

Jake put it best: "Playing Go makes you smarter."