Comparison

The Othello vs Piccolo

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

Head to head
About

The Othello

Experience a visually stunning Othello game with 30 difficulty levels for all skill sets. Challenge the computer to unlock special boards and stones, or play with friends on a single device. Save your progress, get hints, and even share game records via email.

Highlights
  • 30 difficulty levels
  • Unlockable special boards and stones
  • Human vs Computer play
  • Human vs Human play (single device)
  • Handicap game option
  • Save/Load game records
  • Email game record transmission
Features
Read full description

If you are looking for a real Othello app with beautiful graphics and animation, this is it! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Othello" is a wonderful version. With this single app alone, you can play with all of iPhone/iPod touch/iPad ! And... Enjoy "real" Othello whenever you like, wherever you want. *30 difficulty levels from beginner to expert. You will find the most suitable strength among the 30 levels for "head-to-head" game. *Challenge to win the special style boards by defeating computer! If you defeat computer under the given conditions, you will get the new surprising boards and stones to replace. *Other features: - Human vs Computer, Human vs Human (sharing a single device) - Handicap game(a game starting with 1-4 black handicap-stones) - Save/Load game record - Hint - transmit game record by e-mail - play this game while listening iPhone music

About

Piccolo

Experience the classic strategy board game with a powerful AI and a polished interface. Customize your game with beautiful themes, play online with friends or strangers, and enjoy a seamless experience across devices. Includes fun iMessage stickers.

Highlights
  • Strong, customizable AI engine
  • Polished native user interface
  • Variety of beautiful themes
  • Local and online multiplayer
  • Automatic game saves and move undo
  • iMessage stickers
Features
Read full description

• #1 Most Downloaded Game (April, May, June, July 2021) — Japan Mac App Store! • Featured in Apple's "What We're Playing", "Games We Love" and "Best Games Made in France"! • "Beautiful, minimalistic and highly addictive." — TouchArcade • "A simple but captivating game." — Mac4Ever • "From us, this small but fine application therefore receives an absolute recommendation." — Appgefahren • "Whether you're a fan of the game or not, Piccolo will make you love Othello." — MaxiApple Piccolo® is the best Othello app for iPhone®, iPad® and Mac®. It features a strong, fast AI on top of a polished user interface, with beautiful themes, advanced features, online play and more. Piccolo is available in 20 languages and comes with no ads or tracking. It's an Othello app made for Othello players by Othello lovers. • Strong AI: Piccolo features a custom Othello AI engine written in the Rust programming language, designed to be fast, challenging and customizable. The AI's default Level 1 difficulty can be beaten by beginners, while its Level 8 difficulty is likely to challenge even top Othello masters around the world. Designed from scratch, the Piccolo AI engine is sure to give seasoned Othello players a new type of opponent to play against, with often surprising and creative strategies. • User Experience: Piccolo features a native user experience designed for iOS and macOS. A modern design lets you focus on the game, with helpful move indicators, the ability to undo moves, and automatic game saves between every move in case you close the app by mistake or your phone's battery runs out. Multiplayer play is supported both locally and online. • Themes: Piccolo features a variety of beautiful themes to customize and breathe fresh life into your Othello experience. Othello veterans might enjoy sticking to the Classic theme, while others might prefer the handsome Seasoned Wood theme, the adorable Sailor Moon theme or even the Persian Spray theme, inspired by traditional Iranian ceramics. Additional themes designed by guest artist Aline Corrêa are also available, giving you access to an Othello game on top of an alligator lake, inside an ancient castle, next to Egyptian pyramids, and more! • Play Online: Piccolo Online is a free online service that lets you connect with friends via easily exchangeable Game Codes to play friendly Othello games wherever you are around the world. Piccolo Online also supports automatic matchmaking so that you can quickly play games with random opponents worldwide. Piccolo Online features quick, stable connections, and benefits from a strong privacy policy. • Cute iMessage Stickers: Send cute “chibi”-style iMessage stickers to your friends with Piccolo's bundled iMessage Sticker Pack! Featuring 36 custom illustrations drawn by anime artist Erica Li, the stickers feature Piccolo's adorable mascot in different relatable situations. • No Ads, No Tracking: Unlike a majority of games on the App Store today, Piccolo has no terms you need to accept before playing. Piccolo will never show you a single ad, and will never track you. The app is entirely a labor of love for the game of Othello, made by players for players. • Available in 20 Languages: Thanks to contributions from players around the world, Piccolo has been translated from English into Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese. No matter where you are, Piccolo's interface will be easy to understand. Othello® is a registered trademark of MegaHouse Corporation. Piccolo: Othello is an independent implementation of the underlying game, which is placed in the public domain.

Screenshots

The Othello4 screens
Piccolo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Piccolo at 4.7 against The Othello's 3.5. Piccolo also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 months). The Othello's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 26.0). On price, in-app purchases, 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. The Othello sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Piccolo sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Piccolo holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Piccolo has 603 ratings behind it against 40, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of The Othello's written reviews are positive against 77% of Piccolo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Othello ships an update every 3 months, Piccolo every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
The Othello versus Piccolo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe OthelloPiccolo
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (40 ratings)4.7 (603 ratings) — better
Positive reviews55.3% of reviews76.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings40603 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS11.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUNBALANCE CorporationSymbolic Software

Customer experience

The Othello

All ratings40 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral7.5%
Negative32.5%
Written reviews76 reviews
Positive55.3%
Neutral9.2%
Negative35.5%

Piccolo

All ratings603 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral4.1%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews175 reviews
Positive76.6%
Neutral8.6%
Negative14.9%

Bugs and requests

The Othello

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Piccolo

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • AI getting extra moves in certain situations
  • Settings button not functioning properly
  • Game freezing or crashing on some devices
  • Inconsistent piece size on different screen sizes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add online multiplayer mode
  • Implement an undo move feature
  • Add a tutorial or tips section for new players
  • Introduce a 'watch AI vs AI' mode
  • Allow customization of game board and piece themes

In-app purchases

1 purchases

The Othello

One-time1
  • Remove Ad$2.99
2 purchases

Piccolo

One-time2
  • Theme Pack: Around the World$2.99
  • Theme Pack: Great Painters$2.99

Questions

Is The Othello free?
The Othello is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Piccolo free?
Piccolo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Othello or Piccolo?
Piccolo is rated higher. The Othello averages 3.5 out of 5 from 40 ratings, while Piccolo averages 4.7 from 603 ratings.
Do The Othello or Piccolo have ads?
The Othello shows ads; Piccolo does not.
Which is updated more often, The Othello or Piccolo?
The Othello ships an update every 3 months, and Piccolo every 4 days. Most recently, The Othello was updated on September 20, 2026 and Piccolo on September 25, 2026.

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