Comparison

Little Go vs Light GO 9x

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

Head to head
About

Little Go

Play the strategic game of Go on your iPhone or iPad. Challenge a human opponent or test your skills against a powerful AI. Customize game settings, analyze moves, and save your progress.

Highlights
  • Multiple board sizes (7x7 to 19x19)
  • Play against AI or human opponent
  • Adjustable AI strength
  • Score calculation (area/territory)
  • Handicap stone placement
  • Customizable rulesets
  • Save and load games
Features
Read full description

Little Go is a free and open source iOS application that lets you play the game of Go on the iPhone or iPad. You can play against another human (on the same device), or against the computer. The computer player is powered by the open source software library Fuego (http://fuego.sf.net/). The minimum requirement for running this version of Little Go is iOS 16.0. Features: - Board sizes between 7x7 and 19x19 (start a new game to change the board size) - Let the computer player suggest a move or immediately play the move for you - Calculate the score at any time during the game (area scoring is the default, territory scoring can be selected at the start of a new game) - Adjust the computer's playing strength and resign behaviour by selecting from a number of presets, or by fine-tuning advanced settings - Play even games, or games with 2-9 handicap stones (fixed stone placement) - Select from 5 pre-defined rulesets when you start a new game, or adjust game rules to your preference (komi, ko rule, area/territory scoring system, number of passes to end game, resume play by alternating/non-alternating play, four passes end game) - Optionally play with time limits (Main time only, Overtime only, Main time + Overtime), with a choice from 5 Overtime systems - Place arbitrary black and white stones for initial board setup before a game starts - View board positions for moves played earlier during the game - View and create game variations - Discard moves (aka "undo") - Display move numbers and coordinate labels - Zoom & scroll board - Create and edit board and move annotations (e.g. good/bad move, good position for black/white, etc.) and add textual notes to a position - Mark intersections on the board with symbols, markers and labels, and draw arrows or lines on the board - Display player influence (aka territory statistics) for an estimate who owns an area - Computer vs. computer game for entertainment - Save & load games to/from the archive using the SGF file format - Support for almost all properties of the SGF file format, with strict conformance to the specification - Use file sharing to transfer saved games from your iOS device to your computer, and vice versa - Import/export game files from/to other apps on your device (e.g. Mail, DropBox) - In-app user manual - Submit bug report email from inside the app (yes, this *is* a feature :-)) - For the technically inclined: Watch what happens behind the scenes when Little Go and Fuego talk to each other over the Go Text Protocol (GTP) Your contribution in any form (coding, UI design, testing, bug reports, creating an app video preview, website design) is welcome - please contact me or visit the support website to find out more. A note about the project state: Several years of development have gone into Little Go since its inception in January 2011. The app now has a feature set that is, I believe, quite nice :-) for a free program. My main focus therefore lies on fixing any remaining bugs (of which I am sure there are plenty) and keeping the app running under future versions of iOS. Little Go is released under the Apache License 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).

About

Light GO 9x

This is a simple 9x9 strategy board game that is easy to learn. It offers multiple ways to play, including against a computer, a local opponent, or players worldwide via Game Center. Track your progress with leaderboards and achievements.

Highlights
  • 9x9 game board
  • Computer opponent
  • Two-player mode
  • Online multiplayer via Game Center
  • Leaderboards
  • Achievements
  • Audio on/off switch
Features
Read full description

* It is a simple GO game(9 x 9). It is easy to play. It provides Game Center Network Battle. * To avoid the argument, App check the dead stones that not be captured after game over. * The icon below the word "NOW" shows whose turn and the piece used. * To provide the diversified playing methods and different settings below: -Computer- Your opponent is the computer. This is a practice for you. The computer makes the first move. -2 Players- Your opponent is another person. The black player makes the first move. -Network- Game Center matches the two players and computer decides the colors. You can play with all players of the world. (Please join Game Center at first.) -Leaderboards- Game Center saves the result of the games including the wins, draws and defeats of the players, and provides the Leaderboards. -Achievements- Game Center saves the players’ “Points” and provides the achievements. -Audio Switch- Turn on/off audio. * The point formula for Achievements: 1 win=3 score, 1 draw=1 score, 1 defeat=-1 score, ten scores=1 point, points=(wins x 3 + draws - defeats) / 10 * The player who exits game before game over loses the game at the network mode. * The more explanations please refer to the Readme of the app or APP Support.

Screenshots

Little Go4 screens
Light GO 9x4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Little Go at none against Light GO 9x's 1. Little Go also leads on rating (3.3 vs 2.9) and review sentiment (50% vs 25%). Light GO 9x's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Light GO 9x sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Little Go asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Little Go holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Little Go has 121 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Little Go's written reviews are positive against 25% of Light GO 9x's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Little Go ships an update every 4 months, Light GO 9x every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Little Go versus Light GO 9x: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLittle GoLight GO 9x
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (121 ratings) — better2.9 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings121 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPatrick Naf MoserCHIA HO KUO

Customer experience

Little Go

All ratings118 ratings
Positive53.4%
Neutral9.3%
Negative37.3%
Written reviews74 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral20.3%
Negative29.7%

Light GO 9x

All ratings7 ratings
Positive42.9%
Neutral14.3%
Negative42.9%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Little Go

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Cannot pass to end the game
  • Human player cannot place stones (sometimes)
  • AI makes illegal moves
  • AI resigns too early
  • Undo button glitches
Show 4 more
  • Game crashes
  • AI plays the same game repeatedly
  • Scoring inaccuracies
  • Forward/fast forward buttons too close

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add a tutorial for beginners
  • Improve UI clarity and intuitiveness
  • Add a demo board for teaching
  • Add a rematch option
  • Add Game Center support for turn-based matches
Show 2 more
  • Option to turn off auto-scoring
  • Add a Windows program version

Light GO 9x

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Little Go

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Light GO 9x

One-time1
  • Record Function$0.99

Questions

Is Little Go free?
Little Go is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Light GO 9x free?
Light GO 9x is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Little Go or Light GO 9x?
Little Go is rated higher. Little Go averages 3.3 out of 5 from 121 ratings, while Light GO 9x averages 2.9 from 7 ratings.
Do Little Go or Light GO 9x have ads?
Neither Little Go nor Light GO 9x shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Little Go or Light GO 9x?
Little Go ships an update every 4 months, and Light GO 9x every 6 weeks. Most recently, Little Go was updated on November 1, 2026 and Light GO 9x on November 1, 2026.

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