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Gomoku Narabe Renju
五子棋连珠
Gomoku Narabe Renju is an arcade board game released by Nichibutsu in 1981. Based on the traditional Japanese strategy game Renju, players compete to place five stones in a row on a grid before their opponent does. The game supports two-player head-to-head competition, allowing two people to face off directly at the cabinet. Players use a joystick or directional controls to position their pieces on the board, aiming to form a consecutive line of five horizontally, vertically, or diagonally while blocking the opponent's attempts to do the same. There are no stages or levels in the conventional sense; each match is a single game of Renju played to completion, with the winner being the first to achieve five in a row.
- Developer
- Nichibutsu
- Released
- 1981
- Platform
- Arcade
- Genre
- Action
- Players
- 2P
- Rating
- 4.5 / 5 (3.2K)
- Last updated
Gomoku Narabe Renju Controls — Arcade Keyboard Keys
Default keyboard bindings for Gomoku Narabe Renju on our in-browser Arcade emulator. Plug in a USB or Bluetooth gamepad to auto-detect mappings, or rebind any key from the emulator settings menu.
| Keyboard | Console button | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| ↑ | Joystick Up | Move up |
| ↓ | Joystick Down | Move down |
| ← | Joystick Left | Move left |
| → | Joystick Right | Move right |
| X | Button 1 | Primary action (jump / confirm) |
| Z | Button 2 | Secondary action (attack / cancel) |
| S | Button 3 | Tertiary action |
| A | Button 4 | Quaternary action |
| Q | Button 5 | Fifth button |
| W | Button 6 | Sixth button |
| 5 | Insert Coin | Insert coin |
| 1 | 1P Start | Start / Pause |
Coin and Start are convention "Insert Coin: 5" and "1P Start: 1". Some arcade boards expect specific button mappings — check the in-game prompts on coin-up.
Rebind any key from the EmulatorJS in-game settings menu (gear icon → Controls). A connected gamepad auto-maps to the same buttons.
Gomoku Narabe Renju Longplay & Gameplay Videos
Watch a full playthrough of Gomoku Narabe Renju on Arcade before you dive in — recommended for getting a feel for the game's pacing, story beats, and difficulty curve.
Watch longplay on YouTube
"Gomoku Narabe Renju" Arcade longplay 1981
External references
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Gomoku Narabe Renju released?
Gomoku Narabe Renju was released in 1981 for the Arcade.
Who developed Gomoku Narabe Renju?
Gomoku Narabe Renju was developed by Nichibutsu, available to play in your browser on RetroGameSpace.
How many players does Gomoku Narabe Renju support?
Gomoku Narabe Renju supports up to 2 players, ideal for couch co-op or competitive sessions on the Arcade.
What type of game is Gomoku Narabe Renju?
Gomoku Narabe Renju is a Action game for the Arcade, playable instantly in your browser — no downloads, no installs.
How can I play Gomoku Narabe Renju for free?
Open this page and click "Play Now" — Gomoku Narabe Renju runs free in your browser via WebAssembly emulation. No account, no payment, no installer.
Do I need to download anything to play Gomoku Narabe Renju in the browser?
No. Gomoku Narabe Renju streams from a public archive into a browser-side Arcade emulator. Nothing is installed on your computer.
Can I save my progress in Gomoku Narabe Renju?
Yes. Save states are stored in your browser (IndexedDB) per game, and you can also use any in-game save the original Arcade cartridge supported.
Does Gomoku Narabe Renju work on mobile devices?
Yes — the Arcade emulator runs on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. Touch controls overlay the game; landscape mode is recommended.
Is it legal to play Gomoku Narabe Renju this way?
RetroGameSpace is a transient caching reverse-proxy and does not host first-party copies of Gomoku Narabe Renju. Game files are fetched on demand from publicly-accessible archives. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws and the bring-your-own-ROM principle.
