Comparison

Smart Othello vs Board Games

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Smart Othello

Experience the classic strategy board game with this app. Play against friends or a computer with five difficulty levels. Improve your skills with a tutorial and helpful aids, making it easy to learn but challenging to master.

Highlights
  • Five computer play levels
  • Real-time matches via Game Center
  • Achievements and leaderboards
  • Blunder Guard
  • Hint, undo, and replay functions
  • Collection of top player games
Features
Read full description

Play Othello against your friends or the computer. Created by the 1992 US Othello Champion, this is the Othello app you’ve been waiting for. A powerful engine wrapped in a clean user interface. With five levels to choose from, you’ll find the level that gives you the right challenge. The built-in tutorial and teaching aids will help you improve your game — advance to the next level and give your friends a good fight. — A MINUTE TO LEARN … A LIFETIME TO MASTER — Othello has simple rules: just bracket opponent discs and flip them to your color. But proper strategy is more complex than you might think. Smart Othello makes the game enjoyable while improving your play. Features: • Five levels of computer play, from novice to master. • Real-time matches using Game Center. • Achievements and leaderboards to challenge you. • Blunder Guard to keep you from making bad mistakes. • Random openings that give both players an equal chance. • Hint, undo, and easy game replay. • Collection of games by top players for replay and study. Smart Othello was created by the 1992 US Othello Champion, who also developed the acclaimed SmartGo apps for the game of Go. Othello® is a registered trademark of MegaHouse Corporation. Used with permission.

About

Board Games

Enjoy a collection of 11 classic board and arcade games, playable offline against AI or with friends. Experience timeless fun with Ludo, Chess, Checkers, and more, all completely free.

Highlights
  • 11 classic games in one app
  • Play against AI or friends
  • Offline play supported
  • No login or registration required
  • Completely free to play
Features
Read full description

Play against the built-in AI bots or with friends: LUDO Play Ludo one player against the built-in Ludo AI bots, or regular Ludo for 2-4 human players. OTHELLO (Reversi) Play Othello against the computer, or invite a friend to a game on your device. BACKGAMMON Play Backgammon with "Albert", the built-in AI backgammon player, or challenge a friend. CHECKERS (Draughts) Play Checkers against "Albert", the AI, or against a friend. CHESS (Hobby Rating) Play Chess against "Albert", the AI. His rating never exceeds 1000. Or you can play with a friend, taking turns on your device. DOMINOES Play the classic Domino tile game against 1-3 computer players. NINE MEN'S MORRIS Ancient board game, also known as "The Mill Game" or "Cowboy Checkers". Play against the computer or a friend. CUBES Get your block patterns stacked in this fast-paced falling cube game. BRICK BREAKOUT Bounce the ball and break the blocks! Collect power-ups to make your game even more awesome. CAVEBALL (The Wizard) Shoot the balls and get three in a row to burst them. Make sure to get rid of them all before it's too late! PLAY OFFLINE These games work fine without an internet connection. 100% FREE TO PLAY No login, no registration, no in-app purchases. Based on the popular browser games from Playpager.com. Have a great day!

Screenshots

Smart Othello4 screens
Board Games4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Board Games at none against Smart Othello's 1. Smart Othello's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (65% vs 33%). On price, rating, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Smart Othello sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Board Games asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Smart Othello against 4.6 for Board Games. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smart Othello has 535 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Smart Othello's written reviews are positive against 33% of Board Games's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Smart Othello ships an update every 2 months, Board Games every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Smart Othello versus Board Games: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmart OthelloBoard Games
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (535 ratings)4.6 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews65.3% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings535 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSmart Go, Inc.John Henriksen

Customer experience

Smart Othello

All ratings535 ratings
Positive89.9%
Neutral4.1%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews49 reviews
Positive65.3%
Neutral6.1%
Negative28.6%

Board Games

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral66.7%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Smart Othello

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App freezes on launch when Game Center is enabled
  • Game crashes mid-play on certain difficulty levels
  • Online play fails to find opponents or pair players
  • App locks up when switching to other applications
  • Game Center notifications excessive and intrusive
Show 4 more
  • Online games create duplicate concurrent matches
  • Game sync fails between multiple devices
  • Support email from within app doesn't work
  • Game becomes unresponsive during online play

Requested features

9 requests
  • Fix online multiplayer functionality
  • Add local 2-player head-to-head mode
  • Implement time limits for online moves
  • Add option to remove/customize player avatars
  • Improve Game Center integration and sync
Show 4 more
  • Better online mode instructions and documentation
  • Auto-play engine for replay functionality
  • Restore previous purchases
  • Improve difficulty level progression

Board Games

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Smart Othello

One-time1
  • Pro Pack$2.99
None

Board Games

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Smart Othello free?
Smart Othello is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Board Games free?
Board Games is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Smart Othello or Board Games?
Smart Othello and Board Games are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 535 and 8 ratings respectively.
Do Smart Othello or Board Games have ads?
Board Games shows ads; Smart Othello does not.
Which is updated more often, Smart Othello or Board Games?
Smart Othello ships an update every 2 months, and Board Games every 11 months. Most recently, Smart Othello was updated on October 18, 2026 and Board Games on October 8, 2026.

Other comparisons