# CatchTheLionWars vs SmartGo One

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SmartGo One at 77% against CatchTheLionWars's 38%. SmartGo One also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 7 months). CatchTheLionWars's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. CatchTheLionWars sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and SmartGo One sells 47 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

SmartGo One holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartGo One has 2K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of CatchTheLionWars's written reviews are positive against 77% of SmartGo One's.

CatchTheLionWars ships an update every 7 months, SmartGo One every 10 days. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | CatchTheLionWars | SmartGo One |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/catchthelionwars/id598846698/reviews) | **[4.8 (2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartgo-one/id1465746992/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 6 | **2K** |
| Positive reviews | 38.2% of reviews | **76.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 160 MB | 156 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [HEROZ](https://appshunter.io/developer/463257939) | [Smart Go, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/290948289) |

## What reviewers say

### CatchTheLionWars

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/catchthelionwars/id598846698)

Experience a cute and strategic chess variant online against other players. This game is easy to learn in minutes but offers deep strategic gameplay for thinkers.

**Highlights:** Online multiplayer, Cute chess variant, 3x4 board gameplay, Easy to learn, Deep strategy

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| LionKing1 | $0.99 | one-time |
| 30days premium | $4.99 | one-time |
| significantly weakened opponent selection (30 days) | $4.99 | one-time |
| LionKing13 | $9.99 | one-time |
| LionKing27 | $19.99 | one-time |
| LionKing44 | $29.99 | one-time |
| LionKing77 | $49.99 | one-time |
| LionKing133 | $79.99 | one-time |
| LionKing166 | $99.99 | one-time |


### SmartGo One

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartgo-one/id1465746992)

Learn, play, and improve at the ancient game of Go. This app offers adjustable board sizes, a strong AI opponent, and tools to study professional games and solve Go problems. It's designed for players of all skill levels, from beginners to masters.

**Highlights:** Adjustable board sizes (9x9 to 19x19), Strong KataGo game engine, Study professional game records, Solve Go problems and tutorials, Pattern matching for move suggestions, Territory estimator, Game recording and annotation

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (47)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SmartGo One Pro – Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Pro Games and Features | $29.99 | per year |
| Just Enough Japanese 1 | Free | one-time |
| Key Concepts in Life and Death | $2.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Master Collection | $3.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Add-on 2: Medium | $3.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Add-on 1: Easy | $3.99 | one-time |
| Go Problems Add-on 3: Hard | $3.99 | one-time |
| Counting Liberties | $4.99 | one-time |
| The Monkey Jump | $4.99 | one-time |
| Double Digit Kyu Games | $5.99 | one-time |
| Go: A Complete Introduction | $5.99 | one-time |
| How Not to Play Go | $5.99 | one-time |
| Encyclopedia of Go Principles | $5.99 | one-time |
| Want to Play Go? Level 1 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Black to Play 30-25 Kyu | $5.99 | one-time |
| The Workshop Lectures 1 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Rethinking Opening Strategy | $6.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 1 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 2 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 3 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Correct Joseki | $7.99 | one-time |
| “The Theory of Go” | $7.99 | one-time |
| Learn to Play Go 4 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Buddhist Philosophy Game of Go | $8.99 | one-time |
| Graded Go Problems 1 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Graded Go Problems 2 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Want to Play Go? Level 2 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Basic Techniques of Go | $9.99 | one-time |
| Graded Go Problems 3 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Get Strong at Life and Death | $9.99 | one-time |
| Mastering Mini Go by Mark Tomlinson | $11.99 | one-time |
| Fuseki Revolution | $11.99 | one-time |
| Fundamental Principles of Go | $11.99 | one-time |
| The Basics of Life and Death | $11.99 | one-time |
| Joseki Revolution | $11.99 | one-time |
| Life and Death | $11.99 | one-time |
| A Survey of the Basic Tesujis | $11.99 | one-time |
| Tesuji | $11.99 | one-time |
| Tesuji for Beginners | $14.99 | one-time |
| AlphaGo to Zero, vol. 4 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Trouble Master, volume 2 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Trouble Master, volume 1 | $14.99 | one-time |
| AlphaGo to Zero, Vol. 2 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Invincible | $24.99 | one-time |
| Essential Go Proverbs | $24.99 | one-time |
| Pro – Lifetime Unlock | $99.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome app
- 👍 Great for playing and learning Go
- 📚 Excellent integration with Go books
- 🔍 Powerful analysis and review features
- 💻 Seamless experience across devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues
- 🤔 Unintuitive user interface for beginners
- 💰 Paywall for full 19x19 board and some features
- 🤖 AI too strong for novice players

**Reported bugs**

- Illegal move detection issues on certain board positions
- Problems with missing variations or incorrect answers
- Inconsistent behavior when passing moves

**Requested features**

- Add read-only mode
- Improve move suggestion explanations
- Introduce difficulty settings for AI
- Integrate online play functionality
- Provide more randomness in AI moves


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CatchTheLionWars free?

CatchTheLionWars is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is SmartGo One free?

SmartGo One is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, CatchTheLionWars or SmartGo One?

SmartGo One is rated higher. CatchTheLionWars averages 4.3 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while SmartGo One averages 4.8 from 2K ratings.

### Do CatchTheLionWars or SmartGo One have ads?

Neither CatchTheLionWars nor SmartGo One shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CatchTheLionWars or SmartGo One?

CatchTheLionWars ships an update every 7 months, and SmartGo One every 10 days. Most recently, CatchTheLionWars was updated on October 26, 2026 and SmartGo One on October 26, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*