Kim's Game vs SmartGo One
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Kim's Game
Test your memory and observation skills by memorizing a set of shapes within a time limit. This classic game, inspired by Rudyard Kipling, is suitable for all ages and helps improve cognitive abilities.
- Memorize shapes
- Timed challenges
- Brain training
- Observation skills
- Suitable for all ages
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Kim's Game is a fun and addictive brain trainer. You are given a short time to memorize a set of shapes, and then enter what they were. Originally invented by Rudyard Kipling to be played with gems, it has since been used widely to teach memory and observation skills to everyone from pre-school children to the military. How many shapes can you remember?
SmartGo One
Learn, play, and improve at the ancient game of Go. This app offers adjustable board sizes, a strong AI opponent, and tools to study professional games and solve Go problems. It's designed for players of all skill levels, from beginners to masters.
- Adjustable board sizes (9x9 to 19x19)
- Strong KataGo game engine
- Study professional game records
- Solve Go problems and tutorials
- Pattern matching for move suggestions
- Territory estimator
- Game recording and annotation
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SmartGo One is the only Go app you’ll need, whether you’re just getting started or already a seasoned player. Learn, play, study, and improve with SmartGo One. Experience the ancient game of Go on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac in a whole new way. Also known as igo (囲碁), wéiqí (围棋), or baduk (바둑), Go begins with an empty board that gradually fills as players surround territory and capture stones. Start with a 9x9 board and move up to 13x13 and 19x19 as your skills grow. SmartGo One adapts to your strength, automatically adjusting handicaps so games remain competitive and enjoyable. And when you’re ready for a serious challenge, the powerful KataGo-based engine delivers strong, rewarding play. But SmartGo One is far more than a way to play Go. Read interactive Go books while replaying the moves they describe to deepen your understanding. Explore a collection of more than 138,000 professional game records spanning both modern and historical masters. Improve your reading and decision-making skills with a growing library of Go problems and tutorials. Want to know how a master would handle a position on your board? SmartGo’s pattern matching technology compares your game with historical pro games and shows how strong players approached similar situations. No matter your level, SmartGo One helps you continue improving. Features include: • 9x9, 11x11, 13x13, and 19x19 board sizes • Powerful KataGo-based engine • Fast and responsive gameplay • Manual or automatic handicap adjustment • Record, annotate, and edit your games • Territory estimator • Hints and move analysis • Undo and replay controls • Tutorial with over 100 problems • Extensive user manual We value your privacy and only collect the minimum information necessary to make our apps work well for you. Learn more at https://smartgo.com/privacy.html. This app is licensed under Apple’s standard Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: SmartGo One at 77% against Kim's Game's 30%. SmartGo One also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.3) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 8 months). Kim's Game's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 47) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. SmartGo One sells 47 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Kim's Game asks for nothing beyond the download.
SmartGo One holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartGo One has 2K ratings behind it against 30, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of Kim's Game's written reviews are positive against 77% of SmartGo One's.
Kim's Game ships an update every 8 months, SmartGo One every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Kim's Game | SmartGo One |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.3 (30 ratings) | 4.8 (2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 30.0% of reviews | 76.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 30 | 2K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 154 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Clostra | Smart Go, Inc. |
Customer experience
Kim's Game
SmartGo One
Bugs and requests
Kim's Game
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
SmartGo One
Reported bugs
3 issues- Illegal move detection issues on certain board positions
- Problems with missing variations or incorrect answers
- Inconsistent behavior when passing moves
Requested features
5 requests- Add read-only mode
- Improve move suggestion explanations
- Introduce difficulty settings for AI
- Integrate online play functionality
- Provide more randomness in AI moves
In-app purchases
Kim's Game
No in-app purchases
SmartGo One
- SmartGo One Pro – Monthly$4.991 Month
- Pro Games and Features14 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Just Enough Japanese 1Free
- Key Concepts in Life and Death$2.99
- Go Problems Master Collection$3.99
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- Go Problems Add-on 2: Medium$3.99
- Go Problems Add-on 1: Easy$3.99
- Go Problems Add-on 3: Hard$3.99
- Counting Liberties$4.99
- The Monkey Jump$4.99
- Double Digit Kyu Games$5.99
- Go: A Complete Introduction$5.99
- How Not to Play Go$5.99
- Encyclopedia of Go Principles$5.99
- Want to Play Go? Level 1$5.99
- Black to Play 30-25 Kyu$5.99
- The Workshop Lectures 1$5.99
- Rethinking Opening Strategy$6.99
- Learn to Play Go 1$7.99
- Learn to Play Go 2$7.99
- Learn to Play Go 3$7.99
- Correct Joseki$7.99
- “The Theory of Go”$7.99
- Learn to Play Go 4$7.99
- Buddhist Philosophy Game of Go$8.99
- Graded Go Problems 1$9.99
- Graded Go Problems 2$9.99
- Want to Play Go? Level 2$9.99
- Basic Techniques of Go$9.99
- Graded Go Problems 3$9.99
- Get Strong at Life and Death$9.99
- Mastering Mini Go by Mark Tomlinson$11.99
- Fuseki Revolution$11.99
- Fundamental Principles of Go$11.99
- The Basics of Life and Death$11.99
- Joseki Revolution$11.99
- Life and Death$11.99
- A Survey of the Basic Tesujis$11.99
- Tesuji$11.99
- Tesuji for Beginners$14.99
- AlphaGo to Zero, vol. 4$14.99
- Trouble Master, volume 2$14.99
- Trouble Master, volume 1$14.99
- AlphaGo to Zero, Vol. 2$14.99
- Invincible$24.99
- Essential Go Proverbs$24.99
- Pro – Lifetime Unlock$99.00
Questions
Is Kim's Game free?
Is SmartGo One free?
Which has better reviews, Kim's Game or SmartGo One?
Do Kim's Game or SmartGo One have ads?
Which is updated more often, Kim's Game or SmartGo One?
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