“Do you have 15 minutes to learn?” That invitation brought a steady stream of visitors to the
Houston Go Club’s booth at the 2026 Japan Festival Houston, held September 12–13 in Hermann Park.
Serving as a cultural exhibitor, the club welcomed an estimated 75 visitors each day. Many had seen or heard of Go but had never learned the rules. Using a magnetic demonstration board, HGC members offered a continuing series of 15-minute lessons covering liberties, capturing, ko, and life and death. Visitors who stayed longer put their new knowledge to work by playing one another on 9x9 boards.
Michael Bloom, Brian Lee, Skyler Kim, Peter Lee, Matthew Goree, Vincent Tam, Brandon Ng, and John Rascoe staffed the booth for eight hours on both days. The Houston Go Club thanked the Japan-America Society of Houston for organizing the annual festival and welcoming the club as a cultural exhibitor.