Casual Go Players among University Students in Europe and East Asia: Numbers and Characteristics

Marc Oliver Rieger /June 27, 2026

Abstract
Little is known empirically about casual Go players.Their numbers are difficult to estimate and there are no systematic studies about their characteristics (demographics,personality,intelligence etc.).We use data from an international survey among university students including all major Go nations besides Korea (China,Taiwan and Japan)and additional three other countries(Germany,Estonia and Vietnam)to estimate the size of the casual player base and their main characteristics.We find a surprisingly large number of casual players also in countries where Go is not traditionally played.Moreover,we find high masculinity as the strongest predictor for casual Go players while demographic and personality variables are not significant.


Keywords: Go,Baduk,Weiqi,international players,survey