diff --git a/pgx/_src/games/go.py b/pgx/_src/games/go.py
index 9593a406a..f00aef85b 100644
--- a/pgx/_src/games/go.py
+++ b/pgx/_src/games/go.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ class GameState(NamedTuple):
     step_count: Array = jnp.int32(0)
     # ids of representative stone (smallest) in the connected stones
     board: Array = jnp.zeros(19 * 19, dtype=jnp.int32)  # b > 0, w < 0, empty = 0
-    board_history: Array = jnp.full((8, 19 * 19), 2, dtype=jnp.int32)  # for obs
+    board_history: Array = jnp.full((8, 19 * 19), 2, dtype=jnp.int8)  # for obs; values in {-1, 0, 1, 2}
     num_captured: Array = jnp.zeros(2, dtype=jnp.int32)  # (b, w)
     consecutive_pass_count: Array = jnp.int32(0)
     ko: Array = jnp.int32(-1)  # by SSK
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ def __init__(
     def init(self) -> GameState:
         return GameState(
             board=jnp.zeros(self.size**2, dtype=jnp.int32),
-            board_history=jnp.full((self.history_length, self.size**2), 2, dtype=jnp.int32),
+            board_history=jnp.full((self.history_length, self.size**2), 2, dtype=jnp.int8),
             hash_history=jnp.zeros((self.max_termination_steps, 2), dtype=jnp.uint32),
         )
 
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ def step(self, state: GameState, action: Array) -> GameState:
         )
         # update board history
         board_history = jnp.roll(state.board_history, self.size**2)
-        board_history = board_history.at[0].set(jnp.clip(state.board, -1, 1).astype(jnp.int32))
+        board_history = board_history.at[0].set(jnp.clip(state.board, -1, 1).astype(jnp.int8))
         state = state._replace(board_history=board_history)
         # check PSK
         hash_ = _compute_hash(state)
@@ -111,12 +111,13 @@ def is_terminal(self, state: GameState) -> Array:
         return two_consecutive_pass | state.is_psk | timeover
 
     def rewards(self, state: GameState) -> Array:
-        scores = _count_scores(state, self.size)
+        is_terminal = self.is_terminal(state)
+        scores = _count_scores(state, self.size, enable=is_terminal)
         is_black_win = scores[0] - self.komi > scores[1]
         rewards = lax.select(is_black_win, jnp.float32([1, -1]), jnp.float32([-1, 1]))
         to_play = state.color
         rewards = lax.select(state.is_psk, jnp.float32([-1, -1]).at[to_play].set(1.0), rewards)
-        rewards = lax.select(self.is_terminal(state), rewards, jnp.zeros(2, dtype=jnp.float32))
+        rewards = lax.select(is_terminal, rewards, jnp.zeros(2, dtype=jnp.float32))
         return rewards
 
 
@@ -214,15 +215,21 @@ def _is_psk(state: GameState):
     return not_passed & has_same_hash
 
 
-def _count_scores(state: GameState, size):
+def _count_scores(state: GameState, size, enable=True):
+    # `enable=False` replaces the board with a fully-occupied dummy whose flood fill converges
+    # immediately. rewards() discards the scores of non-terminal states anyway, but under
+    # vmap/jit the while_loop below runs as many rounds as the worst board in the batch needs —
+    # without the dummy, every step pays the full territory fill even though almost no state
+    # in the batch is terminal (the empty early-game board is the worst case at ~2*size rounds).
     def calc_point(c):
-        return _count_ji(state, c, size) + jnp.count_nonzero(state.board * c > 0)
+        return _count_ji(state, c, size, enable) + jnp.count_nonzero(state.board * c > 0)
 
     return jax.vmap(calc_point)(jnp.int32([1, -1]))
 
 
-def _count_ji(state: GameState, color: int, size: int):
+def _count_ji(state: GameState, color: int, size: int, enable=True):
     board = jnp.clip(state.board * color, -1, 1)  # my stone: 1, opp stone: -1
+    board = jnp.where(enable, board, 1)
     adj_mat = jax.vmap(_adj_ixs, in_axes=(0, None))(jnp.arange(size**2), size)  # (size**2, 4)
 
     def fill_opp(x):