Play Igo Meikan (Japan) Online

Igo Meikan (NES) – If you’ve ever wanted to learn Go but found the whole thing intimidating, this little NES cart is a surprisingly chill way to dive in. The board’s simple, the controls are straightforward (just place stones with the D-pad), and the AI gives you room to breathe while still keeping you on your toes.

It’s not flashy—just black and white stones on a grid—but there’s something weirdly satisfying about watching your territory slowly take shape. I kept getting wrecked by the medium difficulty AI at first, but after a few matches, I started spotting patterns. The music’s this quiet, almost hypnotic loop that makes it feel like you’re in some old Kyoto tea house instead of your living room.

Fair warning: One match turns into five real fast. The game’s got that “just one more try” pull, especially when you’re trying to recover from that one dumb move you made ten turns ago.