BadukPop Go vs Pente for iMessage
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BadukPop Go
Learn the ancient board game Go with interactive lessons, daily puzzles, and AI opponents. Play against players worldwide and track your progress. Suitable for all skill levels, from beginner to professional.
- Interactive Go lessons for all levels
- Over 4,000 Go problems (Tsumego)
- Play against AI opponents of varying strengths
- Online play with global leaderboard
- Correspondence games with friends
- Automatic scoring for online games
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This app is for Go players of any level, from beginner to professional. Learn how to play the ancient board game Go - also known as Igo (囲碁), Baduk (바둑), or Weiqi (圍棋) - with a fun, interactive tutorial. Sharpen your Go skills with daily random Go problems (Tsumego) at your choice of difficulty. Play Go against a variety of AI opponents, each with its own unique playing style and strength. Enjoy correspondence games with your friends, and challenge other players around the world! • Includes over 4,000 Go problems (Tsumego) curated by pro Go players • Play with quirky AI opponents ranging in strength from 20 Kyu (beginner) to 7+ Dan (professional) • Compete with players around the world on the online Go leaderboard • Improve your Go and Tsumego knowledge with interactive Go lessons • Track your progress with a customized leaderboard for you and your friends LESSONS • Includes a range of fully interactive lessons from beginner to advanced level • Learn the basic rules of Go in just a few minutes • Get familiar with Go problems with step-by-step beginner lessons • Dig deeper into Go tactics like eye shapes, Ko, and shortage of liberties • Master advanced techniques for Tsumego problems like under-the-stones Tesuji and multi-step Ko GO PROBLEMS (Tsumego) • Play Life and Death, Tesuji, or Endgame problems • Rated mode tracks your skill level automatically • When you answer correctly, your rating rises and you face more difficult problems • If you make mistakes, your rating falls and you'll get easier problems • Use Practice mode to try Tsumego problems at your own choice of difficulty • Global leaderboard shows top players by Tsumego rating and problem practice points AI PLAY • Play Go on boards up to 19x19 with a variety of AI opponents • Includes weaker opponents for new Go players to practice with • Also includes a full-power neural-network AI that plays at human professional level ONLINE PLAY • Use "Automatch" to instantly play against a Go opponent near your own skill level • Play correspondence games with your friends on any board size: 9x9, 13x13, or 19x19! • Scoring is fully automatic, using advanced Go AI. There is no need to mark stones manually. HEAR FROM REAL STUDENTS: "I always wanted to learn to play Go and never found a time for it. Then after watching the documentary AlphaGo, I went searching and found this great app. The lessons and puzzles were exactly what I was hoping to find. This app has turned out to be exactly what I needed to help start my journey in Go. Thank you." "Fun app, and excellent for learning this fascinating game. Thanks developers." "It's the best app for Go that I've seen so far." Terms of Service: https://badukpop.com/terms Questions? Reach out to us at support@badukpop.com. Happy Go practice! Indonesia Game Rating System (IGRS) Age Rating: 3+
Pente for iMessage
Engage in a classic strategy board game directly within your messaging app. Challenge friends and family by placing stones to form five in a row or capture opponent pieces. Enjoy simple rules with deep strategic possibilities, all without leaving your conversations.
- Play directly in iMessage
- Classic Pente gameplay
- Five-in-a-row objective
- Stone capture mechanics
- Automatic move validation
- Game state saved in history
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Bring the excitement of Pente to your conversations! This classic strategy board game lets you challenge friends and family right in Messages. HOW TO PLAY: • Place stones on the board to get five in a row • Capture opponent pairs by surrounding them • Win by getting five in a row OR capturing 10 stones • Simple rules, deep strategy FEATURES: • Play directly in iMessage conversations • Beautiful, clean game board • Automatic move validation • Game state saved in message history • Works on iPhone and iPad Perfect for quick games during conversations or longer strategic battles. No separate app needed - everything happens right in Messages! Pente combines the simplicity of tic-tac-toe with the depth of Go. Easy to learn, challenging to master.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pente for iMessage at none against BadukPop Go's 7. Pente for iMessage also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 77%). BadukPop Go's advantage is ratings volume (7.1K vs 5) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.5). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. BadukPop Go sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Pente for iMessage asks for nothing beyond the download.
Pente for iMessage holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BadukPop Go has 7.1K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of BadukPop Go's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pente for iMessage's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BadukPop Go | Pente for iMessage |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (7.1K ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 77.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7.1K — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 18.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 83 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CorePlane Inc. | Cole Bart Madden |
Customer experience
BadukPop Go
Pente for iMessage
Bugs and requests
BadukPop Go
Reported bugs
2 issues- Paid subscription not working as expected
- Notifications causing music playback issues
Requested features
4 requests- More detailed explanations for puzzles and lessons
- Ability to review past games
- Option to disable AI resignations
- Improved matchmaking system
Pente for iMessage
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
BadukPop Go
- BadukPop Pro$6.991 Month
- BadukPop Pro (1 Year)$49.991 Year
- Pack of BadukPop Coins$0.99
- Pack of BadukPop Coins$4.99
- Pack of BadukPop Coins$9.99
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- Pack of BadukPop Coins$19.99
- Pack of BadukPop Coins$39.99
Pente for iMessage
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is BadukPop Go free?
Is Pente for iMessage free?
Which has better reviews, BadukPop Go or Pente for iMessage?
Do BadukPop Go or Pente for iMessage have ads?
Which is updated more often, BadukPop Go or Pente for iMessage?
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