Comparison

SmartGo One vs Sweet Shogi

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

Head to head
About

SmartGo One

Learn, play, and study the ancient game of Go with this comprehensive app. It offers adjustable board sizes, a powerful AI engine, interactive books, and a vast database of professional games to help you improve your skills.

Highlights
  • Multiple board sizes (9x9 to 19x19)
  • Powerful KataGo AI engine
  • Interactive Go books
  • 138,000+ professional game records
  • Go problems and tutorials
  • Pattern matching for game analysis
  • Record, annotate, and edit games
Features
Read full description

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/

About

Sweet Shogi

Learn and play Japanese Chess with this app. It offers a guide for piece movement, four computer difficulty levels, and 22 handicap options for varied gameplay. Enjoy strategic challenges suitable for beginners.

Highlights
  • Piece movement guide
  • Four computer levels
  • 22 handicap variations
  • Beginner-friendly Shogi
  • Japanese Chess rules
Features
Read full description

Shogi is Japanese Chess. The difference between this and regular Chess is that the player is allowed to reuse the pieces captured from the opponent for themselves. With exceptions to the King and the Gold, any pieces that enter the zone of the opponent can be turned over to increase their range of movement. Positioning 2 or more Pawns on a vertical line is not permitted if the Pawns are not turned over. Also, although it is possible to put a King in mate with your own Pawn, it is not permitted to put a King in mate with a Pawn captured from your opponent. This is because such act is an insult to the King. - There is a guide that informs player of a possible movement of the pieces. - Four computer levels. - 22 kinds of handicaps.

Screenshots

SmartGo One4 screens
Sweet Shogi4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SmartGo One at 77% against Sweet Shogi's 0%. SmartGo One also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 months). Sweet Shogi's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price 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. SmartGo One sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Sweet Shogi asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SmartGo One ships an update every 8 days, Sweet Shogi every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
SmartGo One versus Sweet Shogi: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmartGo OneSweet Shogi
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size157 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSmart Go, Inc.NUTRACTOR

Customer experience

SmartGo One

All ratings1,970 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral2.2%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews169 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral8.3%
Negative14.8%

Sweet Shogi

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and 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

Sweet Shogi

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

SmartGo One

Subscriptions2
  • SmartGo One Pro – Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Games and Features14 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time8
  • Go Problems Master Collection$3.99
  • Go Problems Add-on 1: Easy$3.99
  • Go: A Complete Introduction$5.99
Show 5 more
  • How Not to Play Go$5.99
  • Learn to Play Go 1$7.99
  • Graded Go Problems 1$9.99
  • Fundamental Principles of Go$11.99
  • Pro – Lifetime Unlock$99.00
None

Sweet Shogi

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SmartGo One free?
SmartGo One is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sweet Shogi free?
Sweet Shogi is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SmartGo One or Sweet Shogi have ads?
Sweet Shogi shows ads; SmartGo One does not.
Which is updated more often, SmartGo One or Sweet Shogi?
SmartGo One ships an update every 8 days, and Sweet Shogi every 3 months. Most recently, SmartGo One was updated on November 3, 2026 and Sweet Shogi on November 3, 2026.

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