CROSS vs SakataGo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CROSS
A simple yet deeply strategic board game where players capture opponents' pieces and aim to move their king into the enemy's territory. Supports 2 to 4 players and offers a challenging mental workout.
- Simple rules
- Deep strategy
- Piece capturing
- King placement objective
- 2-4 player support
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ルールはとても簡単。「相手の駒を挟む。そして王を敵陣に入れる」 しかしシンプルなだけにやればやるほど奥が深く、非常に頭を使います。 2人から4人で遊ぶことができます。 This game is the easy rule which just catches partner's piece. But as it is done, it's more profound, and you use your head very much. And it's possible to play with 4 people from 2 people.
SakataGo
Play the ancient game of Go offline with a powerful AI engine. Analyze your games, get hints, and adjust AI strength from beginner to superhuman levels. Features realistic board designs and SGF file support for easy sharing and storage.
- Offline KataGo AI engine
- Adjustable AI strength
- Game analysis and hints
- Realistic board and stone design
- SGF file support
- Multiple board sizes
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SakataGo – Play Go offline with KataGo Bring one of the world’s strongest Go AI engines, KataGo, directly to your iPhone or iPad — fully offline, no internet or servers required. Play, analyze, and improve your Go game anywhere, against AI opponents ranging from advanced beginner to professional and superhuman levels. Key Highlights: - Fully offline KataGo AI – play anywhere, anytime! - Adjustable AI strength: from 10‑kyu to full KataGo strength - Realistic board and stones: Hyuga Kaya boards with slate and clam shell stones - Game analysis and hints: review moves, estimate territory, and check win rates - SGF support: open, share, and store Go game files easily Please note: The hardware of the iPad 7th generation from 2019/2020 (A10 Fusion chip) is not compatible with the human imitation modes in SakataGo. The app will have a weaker performance on these old devices. Play & Learn SakataGo combines the KataGo engine with powerful analysis tools: - Step through games forward and backward, get AI hints, and see territory and win rate estimates - See color indications for move quality when reviewing games (green, yellow, orange, red, and purple according to point loss) - Store up to twenty positions in a review stack and cycle through them - Continue playing from any review position, keeping the reviewed game stored or in the clipboard - Choose between human imitation levels (10‑kyu to 9‑dan amateur) or full KataGo strength, based on current neural network models (2025/2026) - Switch opponent strength, AI player and think times during a game to test different reactions Main User Settings: - AI Player (white, black, none, or both (self-play)) - Board size (9 x 9, 13 x 13, 19 x 19) - Handicap and Komi adjustments - Choice of Japanese or Chinese rules - AI think time and hint calculation time - Optional on-screen win rate and score display - Select between two KataGo neural net models (small and large) - Switch sound on or off Realistic Design - Enjoy a beautiful, natural board and stone setup, with slight imperfections for a realistic feel. - SakataGo’s easy-to-use interface focuses on essentials so you can focus on playing and improving your game. Game Sharing & SGF Support - Open SGF files from the Files app, from the clipboard or via Share Extension - Share games or positions via clipboard or compatible apps, or save to file - Note: variants in SGF files are not supported; SakataGo’s main focus is offline AI gameplay and review. However, by using SakataGo's review stack and clipboard functionalities, you can easily play out variants and return to former positions. Why "SakataGo"? The app name was chosen both in honor of Eio Sakata (坂田 栄男, 1920-2010) and KataGo (*2019), combining the names of one of the leading professionals of the 20th century with today's leading Go playing AI.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: CROSS at Free against SakataGo's $8.99. CROSS also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 weeks) and review sentiment (100% vs 83%). On ads, in-app purchases 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
CROSS is free to download; SakataGo costs $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
CROSS ships an update every 10 days, SakataGo every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CROSS | SakataGo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $8.99 |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 83.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 6.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 554 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Koji Murakami | Torsten Hefer |
Customer experience
CROSS
SakataGo
In-app purchases
CROSS
No in-app purchases
SakataGo
No in-app purchases









