# Ishido — The Way of the Stones > Ancient stone-matching puzzle game for strategic or meditative play. (iPhone/iPad app by Darin Koenig.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ishido/id1314137178 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Darin Koenig](https://appshunter.io/developer/319817574) - Category: Games, Lifestyle, Board, Puzzle - Price: Free - Rating: 2.90/5 from 12 App Store ratings · 14 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 18.0 · 37 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2017-11-16 - Data updated: 2026-06-01 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ishido/id1314137178/reviews.md ## What is Ishido? WELCOME TO ISHIDO An ancient puzzle that will test your meditative and strategic powers. Balance the yin & yang of patience vs. the quick score. Your goal is to empty the pouch, but plan ahead to find the elusive 4-way. You must match 72 stones on a board of 96 squares. You can play for points or relax and meditate over each move. OVERVIEW Ishido is a board game where you attempt to match stones according to their colors and patterns. THE GAME BOARD * The Game Board is eight squares high by 12 squares wide. * Stones come in sets of 72 stones. Each stone has two attributes: A color and a symbol. There are six symbols and six colors in each stoneset, thus creating 36 unique stones. Each stone comes in a pair, hence 72 stones in each stoneset. * The Within consists of the interior squares. * The Beyond consists of the squares at the outer edges of the board. * The Touchstone displays the next stone to be played. * The Scoreboard shows both the number of points scored, and the number of combination matches achieved. * The Pouch shows the number of stones remaining to play. ## Key features - Match stones by color and symbol - Strategic point scoring - Meditative gameplay mode - 72 unique stones - 8x12 game board - Next stone preview ## Recent user reviews (10 of 14) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ishido/id1314137178/reviews.md ### 4/5 — 30 Jahre *2024-09-18, version 1.5.8* ... warte ich hierauf. Ich habe eine MS-DOS-VM unter Parallels Desktop auf meinem Mac nur für Ishido eingerichtet, weil alle Klone nicht das Original erreicht hatten. Diese App schon - inklusive der Stonesets und Board und Zählweise. Perfekt umgesetzt, Gilman wäre stolz. Ich hätte auch liebend gerne dafür gezahlt, das wäre es allemal wert. Kurz: Danke!! 1. Nachtrag: Es gibt einen etwas nervigen Fehler. Wie in den Spielregeln (unter App-Support nachzulesen) richtig wiedergegeben, müsste das Board am Anfang jede Farbe und jedes Symbol aufweisen ( Each of the six symbols and six color/patterns are represented in the Opening Tableau. ) ; das ist aber hier nicht der Fall und bedeutet, dass öfters nicht spielbare Konstellationen entstehen. Bitte bitte nachbessern. - 2. Nachtrag: Jetzt ist Ishido unter iDOS3 im Orginal (ohne den o.a. Fehler…) spielbar. Diese App hier wird gelöscht. ### 5/5 — Needs some finishing touches. *2024-06-16* Ishido has been my favorite game since the early days on the mac. This is a welcome version but needs a back button, faster placement of stones, better coloration (black/grey needs higher contrast) and a choice of stone sets along with a few tweaks for smoother operation. This would bring a fantastic strategy game forward and even enable a profit center. ### 5/5 — Brilliant Strategy Game - Works on iMac M1 *2023-11-26* Challenging. Ejoyable. Visually delightful. Yay! 💯 Ishido works perfectly on my iMac M1 & iPad Mini 5. Thank you so much for this version of Ishido. I played the original Ishido on my old iMac G4 for years and was looking to use an emulator for it on the 2021 iMac. Found this iPhone version by chance and decided to see if it is compatible. Works. 100%. ..and fullscreen too😃. The default board and tiles are hard on my eyes, but once I worked out how to change them to my preferred set I am enjoying the game again immensely. Ishido's gameplay is a great help toward keeping my mind active. As there's no undo for a move, my mind has to be even more on the alert. Totally delighted ✅ ### 3/5 — Brilliant classic in need of update *2023-11-10* I played this game on PC years ago when it first came out and really loved it. It’s a strategy game where you combine sets of tiles matched by pattern and color. The menus to change tiles and board dont work right, there is no back button to return to game after your choice so you have close the game and the old choice is there. Originally I always played with the scarab set, but this makes me use a southwestern pattern. Also some sets are hard to see. Slighly enlarging would be great. I would purchase this! It is out of print and probably no longer copyrighted. Someone crafty could improve it and make some money off this. It is a brilliant strategy game similar to chess, go, nine mens morris, backgammon, dominos. Needs tweaks though. ### 1/5 — Frozen *2022-06-05* I was very pleased that Ishido was available again. I played it for years in a classic format but I lost it somehow when I moved material from one device to another I was pleased with the basic playability with this version. When I tried to play today the automatic set up to begin the game provided no option for the first move. Thus the game was frozen. It happened repeatedly so the game is now useless. ### 5/5 — Nice Ishido - hit the double size button for IPad play *2020-07-07* Plays well, lovely graphics, hit the double size button for iPad, it’s perfect, ### 1/5 — Why is it impossible to get a correct version of this simple game? *2020-04-29* Used to play this game all the time. There have been several similar games available for the iPad but - finally - somebody actually released the original version - or at least I thought so. Nope. The original game starts with all six colors AND all six symbols represented in the opening tableau. Not so here. Though the positions are the same, the pieces are random - there is almost always multiple stones of the same color and same pattern. This wreaks havoc on the strategic possibilities and is just a poor way to play the game. Then, when you click to play a stone does it appear there? Nope, you sit and wait while a slow motion pointless animation glides your stone from the pouch to the spot. This is annoying and serves no purpose. And as if that wasn’t enough, the cool feature of being able to ask the oracle to throw an i-Ching hexagram is gone. I’m glad this was free but the problem is, because this ham-handed version is out there now its likely nobody will take the trouble to do it right. ### 5/5 — Endlich wieder da! *2020-04-24, version 1.5.8* Das lässt Retro-Gamer-Herzen höher schlagen und weckt Erinnerungen an die „gute alte Zeit“. Sogar die Originalteilesätze sind mit dabei, super! Vielen Dank, das fehlte mir schon lange. ### 3/5 — A little smoothing required *2019-07-30* I adore this game and have played it since the Accolade version so I’m so glad it’s here! Although the opening tableau is different as mentioned in another review, that doesn’t bother me. What I would love is when there are no more moves left, an option to exit the game would be nice. Right now, when you hit “new” the prompt says “you sure you want to exit?” That is silly -there’s no other play to make - it just makes it seem that you can keep playing. Also, I’d be thrilled if you worked in the I- Ching the way the original did. Overall I still love it! It’s beautiful, and I like the variety of stones and boards. Thank you! ### 3/5 — Great but has a bug *2019-04-15* Really excellent mental strategy game. But it has a startup bug. There is a problem with the 6 tiles at the start. This can occasionally mean you can’t even start the game. There is an easy fix - but I can’t reach the game creator. ## Frequently asked questions about Ishido ### What is the objective of Ishido? The main goal in Ishido is to empty the pouch by matching 72 stones on a 96-square board. Players must plan ahead to find specific matches, like the elusive 4-way. ### How does Ishido's gameplay work? Ishido is a board game where you match stones based on their color and symbol. The game board is 8 squares high by 12 squares wide, and each stone set contains 72 stones with 6 colors and 6 symbols. ### Can I play Ishido offline? The provided data does not specify whether Ishido supports offline play. However, as a single-player puzzle game, it is likely playable without an internet connection. ### What are the different ways to play Ishido? Ishido offers two distinct play styles: you can play for points to test your strategic abilities, or you can choose to relax and meditate over each move for a more calming experience. ### What devices does Ishido support? Ishido is currently supported on iPhones. The app was last updated on February 18, 2026, with version 1.6.0. ### What is the age rating for Ishido? Ishido has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of players. The game focuses on puzzle-solving and strategic thinking. ### How often is Ishido updated? The latest version of Ishido is 1.6.0, released on February 18, 2026. This indicates that the app has received updates, though the frequency is not explicitly stated. ### Does Ishido have ads? No, Ishido does not contain advertisements. The app is free to download and play without any ad interruptions. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.6.0 — 2026-02-18 Compiled to ensure iOS 26 compatibility. Bug fixes ### 1.5.8 — 2020-04-13 Now available for FREE! iOS 13 compatible Note: not recommended for iPad - formatting for iPhone only ### 1.5.7 — 2019-12-27 Small changes to ensure iOS 13 compatibility *** Please note: not formatted for iPad *** ### 1.5.6 — 2018-04-09 Update for iOS 11.3 ### 1.5.5 — 2017-12-30 Fixed a rare skipping of end-of-game bonus award ## Apps similar to Ishido | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Number Hives Hex Logic Puzzles](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/number-hives-hex-logic-puzzles/id6743806143) | — | Free | Games | | [Hexa Match!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hexa-match/id6449020441) | 5.0 (1) | Free | Games | | [I HEART ZOO](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/i-heart-zoo/id6468917007) | 5.0 (5) | Free | Games | | [SpellingB: A Fun Spelling Bee](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spellingb-a-fun-spelling-bee/id6747096099) | 5.0 (1) | Free | Games | | [Hexagon Blocks - Puzzle Game](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hexagon-blocks-puzzle-game/id6449673836) | — | Free | Games | | [Zotz!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zotz/id346433833) | 5.0 (4) | Free | Games | --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-01.*