Comparison

Smart Othello vs Mahjong Universe

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

Mahjong Universe

Experience two classic tile games: authentic four-player Mahjong with Hong Kong rules and relaxing Mahjong solitaire. Both are free, playable offline, and require no account. Enjoy a guided learning experience for the real game and an endless adventure mode with an optional subscription.

Highlights
  • Authentic four-player Mahjong
  • Mahjong solitaire game mode
  • Offline play
  • No account required
  • Illustrated rulebook
  • Adventure mode with subscription
Features
Read full description

Mahjong Universe is two games in one: the real four-player Mahjong played around tables in Hong Kong, and calm, beautiful Mahjong solitaire. Both are free, work fully offline, and never need an account. CLASSIC MAHJONG — THE REAL GAME (NEW) Sit down at a four-player table against three computer opponents and play authentic Mahjong: draw a tile, discard a tile, and build a hand of four sets and a pair. Call Chow, Pung and Kong on other players' discards, declare concealed and added kongs, set flowers and seasons aside for bonus fan, and win by self-draw or on a discard. - Hong Kong rules and scoring: the full fan table, from Common Hand and All Pungs through Mixed and Pure One Suit, Small and Great Dragons and Winds, All Honors, Nine Gates, Thirteen Orphans and the other limit hands. - Every win is explained: see the winning hand, each scoring pattern with its Chinese name and fan, the table value, and how the points moved. - Real structure: seat winds, prevailing winds, dealer rotation, drawn hands, an East round or a full four-round game. - House rules you can set: minimum fan (0, 1 or the standard 3), discarder-pays-all or pays-half, Seven Pairs on or off, opponent pace. - Helpers for learners: auto-sort your hand, see which tiles you are waiting on, and a warning when your hand is complete but too cheap to win. - A complete illustrated rulebook built in — tiles, sets, the deal, claiming, kongs, scoring, payment, strategy tips and a glossary — so you can learn the real game from scratch. - Your match saves automatically; pick it up whenever you like. SOLITAIRE Match free pairs of identical tiles to remove them, and clear the whole board to win. Simple to learn, endlessly relaxing to play. - Free reshuffle whenever you get stuck. - Adjustable board size, unlockable tile looks, and a built-in tile glossary that explains what every Mahjong tile means. WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT - Play anywhere, fully offline — no internet connection needed. - No account or sign-up. Just open and play. - Crisp, original tile art shared by both games, and a soothing soundtrack. ADVENTURE MODE Climb a never-ending trail through rolling grass and distant mountains, one solitaire board at a time, chapter after chapter. The map is alive — the grass sways in the breeze, clouds drift by, and white birds glide over the wall. Your first chapter is free to play; unlock the full, endless climb with an optional Adventure subscription. ADVENTURE SUBSCRIPTION - Full Adventure — $0.99 per month. No free trial — the first chapter is the free preview. - Unlocks every zone of the endless Adventure climb. Classic Mahjong and Solitaire are free and never require it. - Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically at $0.99/month unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. - Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ - Privacy Policy: https://prismdatagroup.com/mahjonguniverse/privacy We'd love to hear from you: 1@prismdatagroup.com

Screenshots

Smart Othello4 screens
Mahjong Universe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mahjong Universe at 5.0 against Smart Othello's 4.5. Mahjong Universe also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Smart Othello's advantage is ratings volume (552 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 and Mahjong Universe sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mahjong Universe holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Smart Othello has 552 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Smart Othello ships an update every 2 months, Mahjong Universe every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Smart Othello versus Mahjong Universe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmart OthelloMahjong Universe
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (552 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews65.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings552 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSmart Go, Inc.George Field

Customer experience

Smart Othello

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

Mahjong Universe

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
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

Mahjong Universe

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Smart Othello

One-time1
  • Pro Pack$2.99
1 purchases

Mahjong Universe

Subscriptions1
  • Full Adventure$0.991 Month

Questions

Is Smart Othello free?
Smart Othello is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mahjong Universe free?
Mahjong Universe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Smart Othello or Mahjong Universe?
Mahjong Universe is rated higher. Smart Othello averages 4.5 out of 5 from 552 ratings, while Mahjong Universe averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Smart Othello or Mahjong Universe have ads?
Neither Smart Othello nor Mahjong Universe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Smart Othello or Mahjong Universe?
Smart Othello ships an update every 2 months, and Mahjong Universe every 3 weeks. Most recently, Smart Othello was updated on November 2, 2026 and Mahjong Universe on October 28, 2026.

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