# SaioApp — The strongest Othello engine

> World's strongest Othello engine for professional players with extensive game analysis. (iPhone/iPad app by Benedetto Romano.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/saioapp/id1413881048 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Benedetto Romano](https://appshunter.io/developer/1413881047)
- Category: Games, Board, Strategy
- Price: $18.99 with in-app purchases
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 2 App Store ratings · 3 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 10.1 · 263 MB
- Released: 2018-08-06
- Data updated: 2026-08-17
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/saioapp/id1413881048/reviews.md

## What is SaioApp?

Saio (System Artificial Intelligence Othello) 
The strongest Othello engine in the world developed in about 15 years by the 3 times Italian Othello Champion Romano Benedetto.

Now available on your iOS Device with all his features:

- Play vs the engine at specific time limit or fixed depth of search
- Eval bests moves
- Eval all moves
- Show detailed Library values
- WThor games archive with all games of official tournaments from 1977
- Show statistics from games archive 
- You can study a specific player directly on the board
- Regressive Analysis of all the games
- Endgame Tutor mode, Single good move and single line to avoid lose the game
- InApp buy of the INCREDIBLE BIG Library 8GB with 180M moves, 240.443 draw lines
- Rotate board
- Load games from list of moves in the clipboard
- Export list of moves to the clipboard to easy share in chats
- Show transcript of the game
- Edit board
- Fix the line that Saio play
- Select of random XOT opening
- Study mode to help to memorize openings
- Gameplay mode with rank level of difficult
- Middlegames play mode with rank points and level of difficulty
- Endgames play mode with rank points and level of difficulty
- Online classify for ranked games play mode

Who buyed the FULL Library now can:

- Expand the Library, manually or automatically (press for 3 seconds on Library)
- Expand fixed lines
- Automatically fill nodes not yet present on the line
- Can start from the standard library too
- Merge the incremental library to the main library
- Download WThor DB Update automatically

The engine of Saio is actually the STATE OF THE ART of the informatic knowledge about search in game trees, and is REALLY accurate to eval moves.

SaioApp contain all the firsts 12 moves of his INCREDIBLE BIG Library of moves.
After you can buy the FULL 8GB Library developed in about 10 years and continue to be expanded. 
The FULL library actually permit to Saio to NEVER LOSE A GAME, using the datagram algorithm build during Ph.D Thesis "How to build a library to never lose a game".
You can explore all the library values and know what sequences are really draw, lose or win.
You will have the definitive knowledge of the Othello moves with they real values.

Designed for Professional Players that need the best engine ever, created to beat all others engines.

Thanks to Alessandro Di Mattei and Paolo Scognamiglio for they support to be first in the world to buy SaioApp and to contribute to Test and add features.

http://www.romanobenedetto.it/tesi.pdf

## Key features

- Play against the strongest Othello engine
- Analyze best and all moves
- Access WThor games archive
- Study specific players
- Endgame Tutor mode
- In-app purchase for large move library
- Study mode for openings

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: $18.99.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Saio Full Library | $44.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (3 of 3)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/saioapp/id1413881048/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Gute App mit bugs

*2024-11-20*

Die App hat eine sehr gewöhnungsbedürftige Oberfläche (schlecht) und einen Layout Bug bei Analysen auf dem iPhone 13, den der Entwickler seit 3 Jahren nicht behoben hat.
Ansonsten sehr gut.

### 5/5 — This Really is the Strongest Othello/Reversi App

*2023-01-22*

Many board game apps claim to be the strongest. Saio’s claim to be the strongest Othello/Reversi app appears to be true. The developer put a lot of work into it and he deserves to be compensated. That being said, the app is quite pricey. The in-app purchase for the entire library is an additional $44.99. So this app is really for very serious Othello players, as in tournament players. Casual players and beginners should probably consider a free app, many of which are quite strong. When I purchased this app, I installed it on my main iPad. When I tried to install it on my iPhone, it wouldn’t let me do so for about an hour.

### 5/5 — By far the best evaluation engine for Othello!!

*2020-11-20, version 1.54*

Incredibly useful app

## Frequently asked questions about SaioApp

### What is SaioApp?

SaioApp is a mobile application featuring the world's strongest Othello engine, developed over 15 years by a three-time Italian Othello Champion. It offers advanced gameplay, analysis tools, and access to a comprehensive game archive.

### What are the main features of SaioApp?

SaioApp allows you to play against the engine with time limits or search depth, evaluate moves, access a vast archive of official tournament games from 1977, study individual players, and utilize an Endgame Tutor mode. It also offers an optional 8GB full library for purchase.

### Can I play SaioApp offline?

The description does not explicitly state offline play capabilities. However, the core engine and analysis features are likely to function without an internet connection, though online classification for ranked games would require connectivity.

### How does SaioApp compare to other Othello apps?

SaioApp is marketed as the 'strongest Othello engine in the world' and is designed for professional players. Its extensive library and advanced analysis tools differentiate it from more casual Othello or Reversi applications.

### What is the price of SaioApp?

The base application is available for $18.99. There is also an optional 'INCREDIBLE BIG Library 8GB' available for in-app purchase, which further enhances the engine's capabilities.

### What is the age rating for SaioApp?

SaioApp has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users interested in strategy games.

### How often is SaioApp updated?

The application was last updated on February 6, 2023, indicating a commitment to ongoing development and maintenance. The latest version is 2.1.

### Does SaioApp have ads?

No, SaioApp does not contain advertisements. The application is free to download and offers optional in-app purchases for additional content.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.1 — 2023-02-06

- ADDED resume download of library
- UPDATED WThor database
- FIXED a rare Library bug
- FIXED an Update Archives bug
- FIXED some language traduction
- BETTER Notch management

### 2.00 — 2022-11-22

- ADDED multilanguage
- ADDED option to show number of discs
- ADDED option to use multiple fixed lines
- ADDED Split View compatibility
- FIXED in Library number of variants
- FIXED bad move played at low depths
- FIXED switching fast from stats mode

### 1.54 — 2020-10-04

- FIXED a transposition issue in the Library
- BETTER MinMax stability in Regressive Analysis

### 1.53 — 2020-09-30

- NEW Option to analize directly after pasting lines
- Small UI improvements

### 1.52 — 2020-09-14

- 35% Faster endgame solver caused by an old error in moves ordering
- Fixed a bug in Emulate Player on moves from Archive games of the player
- Fixed wrong results when game finish with holes

## Apps similar to SaioApp

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Iago Reversi](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iago-reversi/id1533329623) | 5.0 (5) | Free | Games |
| [KifuBox](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kifubox/id1434692901) | 5.0 (7) | Free | Games |
| [Othello Sensei](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/othello-sensei/id6738860855) | 3.0 (2) | Free | Games |
| [Flipello](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flipello/id1441651530) | — | Free | Games |
| [Little Golem](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/little-golem/id1193062465) | — | Free | Games |
| [Reversi Effect](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/reversi-effect/id6740512187) | — | Free | Games |

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*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 2026-08-17.*