Comparison

Five In a Row vs ™ Gomoku

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

Head to head
About

Five In a Row

Challenge friends or AI in this classic strategy board game. Connect five pieces of your color in a line to win. Perfect for quick challenges, relaxation, or teaching strategy.

Highlights
  • Online multiplayer
  • 2 player mode on same device
  • 3 AI difficulty levels
  • Game Center achievements
  • Colorful themes
  • Global high-score ranking
Features
Read full description

Connect 5 pieces of your colour in a line before your opponent. The popular game is now in your hands every time you can spare a moment for a challenge or a bit of relax. Excellent for testing your skills or teaching strategy to kids. Have hours of fun with the 2 players mode, on the same device, or play online against friends or other players from all over the world. Or try to beat our virtual player! He can play at 3 levels of difficulty and you can see your improvements game by game on the Global High-Score, the Worldwide ranking with all the Gomoku players in the world. A classic! Start playing for free! :) What you get: - Play against real people! Online multiplayer or on the same device (2 players mode) - 3 Virtual opponents, very well trained at 3 difficulty levels (for your single player games) - Easy to get: just tap and play - Game Center achievements - Colourful themes - Superb for all ages - Kids will love it! - An expanded tic-tac-toe, but vastly superior! @outofthebit facebook/outofthebit

About

™ Gomoku

Experience the classic strategy of Five in a Row on your mobile device. Challenge AI opponents across five difficulty levels or play against friends. Customize your game with various board sizes, piece sets, and a board editor.

Highlights
  • Five difficulty AI levels
  • Save and load games
  • Undo function
  • Custom board editor
  • Multiple board sizes
  • Timer-based gameplay
  • Zoom functionality
Features
Read full description

Dive into Gomoku: The Classic Five in a Row, Now on Your Phone! Explore the timeless strategy of Gomoku, also known as Five in a Row, Caro, Omok, Renju, or Gobang. This classic board game, traditionally played on a 15x15 intersection Go board, challenges players to align five stones in an unbroken row to claim victory. Gomoku brings this captivating game right to your phone, retaining the authentic feel of playing with black and white Go pieces. Whether it's family game night or a solo challenge against diverse AI opponents, this mobile version caters to all. With five difficulty levels ranging from Easy to Expert, even the most skilled players will find themselves tested. Each victory in Gomoku is not just a mark of pride but also earns you experience points, increasing from +1 for Easy to a challenging +7 for Expert wins. Key Features: * Convenient Undo function. * Ability to Save and Load games in progress. * A range of AI difficulties, offering five levels to test your skills. * Timer-based gameplay for added excitement. * Custom board editor for a personalized gaming experience. * A variety of board and piece sets to choose from. * Zoom in and out for the best view. * Multiple board sizes for varied gameplay: select from 9x9, 11x11, 13x13, and the classic 15x15. Embrace the free-style version of Gomoku supported in this game, where forming a row of five or more stones leads you to victory. Get ready to enjoy the strategic depth of Gomoku on your phone!"

Screenshots

Five In a Row4 screens
™ Gomoku4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: ™ Gomoku at none against Five In a Row's shown. ™ Gomoku also leads on ratings volume (3.1K vs 735). Five In a Row's advantage is review sentiment (70% vs 53%). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. Five In a Row sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ™ Gomoku sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Five In a Row against 4.5 for ™ Gomoku. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 735 and 3.1K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of Five In a Row's written reviews are positive against 53% of ™ Gomoku's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Five In a Row ships an update every 8 months, ™ Gomoku every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Five In a Row versus ™ Gomoku: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFive In a Row™ Gomoku
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (735 ratings) — better4.5 (3.1K ratings)
Positive reviews70.1% of reviews — better53.3% of reviews
Number of ratings7353.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 7 months — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOutOfTheBit LtdVM Mobile Team

Customer experience

Five In a Row

All ratings731 ratings
Positive87.7%
Neutral6.2%
Negative6.2%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive70.1%
Neutral9.2%
Negative20.7%

™ Gomoku

All ratings3,037 ratings
Positive87.1%
Neutral4.7%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive53.3%
Neutral16.4%
Negative30.3%

User reviews

Five In a Row

From 735 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game
  • 🤩 Very addictive and fun
  • 🎮 Excellent quick game
  • 🎨 Really nice UI and customization settings
  • 🧠 Helps everyone to keep getting smarter

Room to improve

  • 🤖 AI is not smart enough to play with
  • 🚧 Game locks up so much
  • 📺 Too many ads that last way too long
  • 🛑 Endless ads
  • 🤯 Never seen that many adds which can't even stop

™ Gomoku

From 3.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Fun game
  • 🤖 Challenging AI opponent
  • 🧠 Mentally stimulating
  • 🕹️ Easy to play

Room to improve

  • 💰 Too many ads
  • 🔍 Difficulty levels not well-balanced
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🤖 AI too difficult to beat

Bugs and requests

Five In a Row

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Multiplayer doesn't work
  • Game has too many bugs
  • Misplaced markers due to phone not responding or accidental touches

Requested features

4 requests
  • Option for up to 4 players
  • Harder levels
  • Undo button or hold to place token option
  • Better control of leaderboard scores

™ Gomoku

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incorrect game outcomes
  • Unresponsive controls
  • Crashing and freezing issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • More difficulty settings
  • Disable 3-3 rule
  • Larger board size
  • Customizable board and piece styles

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Five In a Row

One-time1
  • Gomoku Premium$1.99
1 purchases

™ Gomoku

One-time1
  • Premium$3.99

Questions

Is Five In a Row free?
Five In a Row is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ™ Gomoku free?
™ Gomoku is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Five In a Row or ™ Gomoku?
Five In a Row is rated higher. Five In a Row averages 4.5 out of 5 from 735 ratings, while ™ Gomoku averages 4.5 from 3.1K ratings.
Do Five In a Row or ™ Gomoku have ads?
Five In a Row shows ads; ™ Gomoku does not.
Which is updated more often, Five In a Row or ™ Gomoku?
Five In a Row ships an update every 8 months, and ™ Gomoku every 7 months. Most recently, Five In a Row was updated on November 1, 2026 and ™ Gomoku on November 6, 2026.

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