Squares vs Goban3D
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Squares
A strategy game inspired by classics like Othello and Reversi. Players take turns copying or moving squares to capture opponent's pieces, aiming to block all possible moves. Enjoy a variety of boards and play modes.
- 125 unique boards
- 5 board sizes
- 1 and 2-player modes
- Play against device or friend
- Random board generation
- Resume previous games
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*** REVIEWS *** "SQUARES IS AWESOME!" "This gamne is addictive! I pretty much play it all the time!" A simple strategy game like Othello, Reversi & Attaxx. Play against your device or another player. Choose one of your squares and then either copy or move that square into one of the highlighted squares surrounding it. Take over the other player's squares by jumping next to them, and win by making it impossible for the other player to move. Forget about the daily commute - fire up Squares! STILL FREE! Features: - 125 boards - 5 board sizes: 8x10, 8x12, 9x14, 9x16, 10x16 - fits all iPhone displays! - 1 and 2-player modes: play against your device or another player - Random boards - Full boards with no missing places - Skip boards you don't want to play - Bonus squares - Resume a previous game - Compatible with iOS 13+
Goban3D
Experience the ancient game of Go with stunning 3D visuals or a clean 2D interface. Play against the world's strongest AI offline, challenge friends online via Game Center, or enjoy local matches on a single device. Offers extensive accessibility features for all players.
- Play Go in 3D or 2D
- Offline AI play with KataGo
- Online matches with friends
- Local pass-and-play mode
- Multiple board sizes (9x9, 13x13, 19x19)
- Extensive accessibility features
- Customizable board and stone textures
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Goban3D brings the ancient game of Go — also known as 囲碁 (igo), 바둑 (baduk), or 圍棋 (wéiqí) — to iPhone and iPad. Play on a beautifully rendered 3D goban or switch instantly to a clean 2D board. Local matches, private online games with friends via Game Center requested matches, and the world's strongest Go AI, KataGo, all in one app. Whether you've never placed a stone before, want a private match with a friend or club-mate, or are ready to test your skills against the strongest Go engine on the planet — Goban3D is for you. KATAGO AI (FREE, 100% OFFLINE) • The world's strongest open-source Go engine, running natively on Apple Silicon — no internet, no account, no data sent anywhere. The AI is fully on-device • Board sizes 9×9, 13×13, and 19×19 • 26 skill levels: 20 Kyu (complete beginner) through 5 Dan, plus full-strength AI for serious study • Weaker levels use KataGo's Human-style network (trained on human games) so the AI plays like a real person at your rank — not a crippled superhuman • Full-strength mode runs the latest strongest KataGo network published on katagotraining.org as of 15 April 2026 • There's an old Go proverb: "Lose your first 50 games as quickly as possible." Start on 9×9 at 20 Kyu — after 2 or 3 games, winning comes easier than you might think. Each time you win, raise the skill by 1 or 2. KataGo is the best Go teacher ever built, and it speaks every language ONLINE PLAY WITH FRIENDS • Private matches over Game Center with people already in your contacts • Invite a specific friend — no public matchmaking, no strangers • All online games are untimed — take your time and enjoy the game LOCAL PLAY • Two players on one device, pass-and-play • Board sizes: 9×9, 13×13, 19×19 • Handicap stones (0–9) with automatic komi adjustment • Japanese scoring with 6.5 komi — mark dead stones, confirm the score • Untimed by default — take your time and enjoy the game BOARD & VISUALS • 3D board powered by RealityKit — physically-based materials, 60 fps animations for every placement and capture • Instant 2D mode in SwiftUI for low-power play • 4 board textures, 8 stone textures, multiple ground and gridline options — all free • Haptic feedback and authentic wooden stone sound effects • NHK broadcast-style move announcements with optional Go terminology (atari, tsuke, hane, nobi...) ACCESSIBILITY — GO FOR EVERYONE Goban3D makes Go genuinely accessible — across ability, skill level, device, region, and language. No other Go app on the App Store declares any accessibility features. Goban3D has 100% coverage across all seven Apple categories: VoiceOver with full board-position labels, Voice Control, Dynamic Type, Reduce Motion, Reduce Transparency, Sufficient Contrast, and Differentiate Without Color. The app starts in 2D by default, and the 2D SwiftUI board is where the full accessibility stack lives — including complete VoiceOver board navigation. When VoiceOver is on, the 3D toggle is disabled to keep the accessible experience front and centre. A dedicated high-contrast mode and adjustable grid-line thickness help players with low vision. DEVICES • Also runs on Mac and visionOS via "Designed for iPad" • Minimap on smaller iPhones ensures every intersection meets Apple's 44pt minimum tap target, even on 19×19 Free to play, with gameplay that is always ad-free. A brief ad appears on launch and just before scoring mode, so your time on the board is never interrupted. Remove all ads with an optional yearly subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://goban3d.com/en-US/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Squares at none against Goban3D's 1. Squares also leads on ratings volume (5 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). Goban3D's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 5 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). 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. Goban3D sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $7.99 per year. Squares asks for nothing beyond the download.
Goban3D holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Squares has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Squares ships an update every 5 months, Goban3D every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Squares | Goban3D |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 79.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 246 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chris Haynes | Adam Gibbons |
Customer experience
Squares
Goban3D
Bugs and requests
Squares
Reported bugs
7 issues- Game crashes when AI has one move left
- Game freezes during gameplay
- Crashes on app launch in certain versions
- One-player mode exits to home screen
- Incorrect win/loss determination
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- Infinite stalemate moves possible
- App doesn't load after installation without restart
Requested features
11 requests- Difficulty levels or harder AI
- Online multiplayer mode
- Custom level/board creation
- More board layouts
- Achievements or tournament mode
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- Campaign mode
- Multiple player colors
- Volume adjustment settings
- Sequel (Squares 2)
- Local Wi-Fi multiplayer
- Animation when copying squares
Goban3D
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Squares
No in-app purchases
Goban3D
- Remove Ads (Yearly)$7.991 Year









