The Many Faces of Go, Version 12

"The Many Faces of Go" is the 2010 World Computer Go 13x13 champion, the 2008 World Computer Go 19x19 and 9x9 champion, the 2002 World Computer Go Champion, 1998 World Computer Go Champion, and ten time US Computer Go Champion. It is one of the strongest Computer Go opponents in the world, and has many other great features including an integrated IGS client so you can play on the Internet. A sophisticated set of go problems and a Joseki tutor help you improve your game. It includes several go players of different strengths, from 2 kyu to 18 kyu, so players of any level can have a challenging game.

System requirements: IBM-PC or compatible, 32 bit or 64 bit Intel or AMD CPU, Windows NT, XP, 2000, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10. 32 or 64 bit Windows. 512 MB or more main memory.

Download The Many Faces of Go Version 12 Free trial

Buy The Many Faces of Go Version 12

Many Faces of Go screenshot

In 2006 and 2007 a new breakthrough algorithm for computer go (Monte Carlo Tree Search), was developed in France.  This new approach plays thousands of pseudorandom games each second, and collects statistics on the moves to choose where to play. With very little go knowledge, this algorithm can beat any of the traditional, knowledge-based, go programs.

Many Faces of Go, Version 12 is the only program to combine the new search algorithm with the go knowledge from Version 11 to get the benefit of both. It gains strength from Monte Carlo evaluation, but avoids most of the strange moves. This led immediately to over five stones increase in playing strength. At the 2008 ICGA world championship, the pure Monte Carlo programs beat all of the traditional programs, and Many Faces of Go Version 12 beat all of the Monte Carlo and traditional programs. Ongoing work since then continues to improve the strength of the program at a rapid rate.

Version 12 Features:

Buy Version 12

The most recent computer go engine (Version 12) is available in Japan, as "AI IGO," with a Japanese user interface for Windows or Macintosh. This is one of the best selling go programs in Japan.

You can play against "The Many Faces of Go" on the internet on the KGS go server in the Computer Go room. It uses the name "ManyFaces."

Many Faces' Go Rating

Go ratings for amateurs are on a scale that starts around 25 kyu for beginners, goes to 1 kyu, then 1 dan, then 6 dan or so for the strongest players. Most people who are serious about studying the game, and have stronger players to play with, can get to 10 kyu in about a year, and 1 dan in 3 to 5 years. American (AGA), Japanese, and NNGS ratings are a little weaker than ratings in China, Taiwan, Korea, Europe, and IGS.

The older Many Faces of Go Version 11 has a 6 kyu diploma from the Japanese Nihon-Ki-in, based on test games against rated Japanese players and some sample play against a 9-dan professional. It had am 8 kyu rank on the NNGS.

Many Faces Version 12 is rated stronger than 1 Dan on the online KGS server, based on hundreds of games against many different players. The graph below shows the rating of my unreleased experimental engine that will be in the next Version.

KGS rank graph for manyfaces

Known Bugs, Incompatibilities, and issues in Version 12

Click here to send mail to report bugs in Version 12, or to suggest new features for the next Version.

Known Bugs, Incompatibilities, and issues in Version 11.0

Older Versions

I've been working on this go engine for a long time, and it has appeared in many earlier products:

Other Information About The Many Faces of Go

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