Igowin app for iPhone and iPad
4.4 (
3904 ratings )
Games
Board
Strategy
Developer:
Smart Games
2.99 USD
Current version:
1.1, last update: 7 years ago
First release : 18 Sep 2009
App size: 21.48 Mb
Igowin brings the ancient game of strategy, Go, into the 21st century and puts it right in the palm of your hand. With the most powerful Go software available for the iPhone or iPod Touch, Igowin will challenge you no matter what your level, and keep you at the top of your game.
Igowin uses the same Go engine as The Many Faces Of Go. Thats the three time world computer Go champion that has been in ongoing development for over 25 years. It draws on more than two and a half decades of experience, a massive knowledge base and the newest research, as well as modern Monte Carlo techniques to help you learn and grow as a player. This is, hands down, the strongest Go engine available for the iPhone or iPod Touch.
Igowin has the most comprehensive tutorial of any app of its kind. You get a good solid understanding of the game, and can begin playing immediately. With no complex menus and just a few basic controls, the game is easy to navigate. The convenient "undo" feature lets you reset a mis-tap, without waiting for the computer to finish thinking. All levels are calibrated by play, on an online server. That means that the ranking Igowin gives you is very close to what your real-world ranking would be, rather than an arbitrary number that only applies within the app.
Igowin uses the traditional Kyu ranking system to measure your performance. The engine automatically adjusts its level of play to match yours. By using the calibrated rankings within the Go engine, it can play a 9x9 even game, with no handicaps, against any player, from beginner all the way up to 3 dan level.
Whether youre a rookie looking for a fun new way to learn and play the game of Go, or a crafty veteran looking for a challenge, Igowin is the app youve been searching for. Take Igowin wherever you go, and play it whenever you have a few minutes to burn. Its always ready for a quick game, or a long session.
With Igowin on your iPhone or iPod Touch, youre ready to start playing the 4000 year old game that takes a few minutes to learn, and a lifetime to master.
Pros and cons of Igowin app for iPhone and iPad
Igowin app good for
Great app. Surprisingly creative ai. Very challenging, but not overwhelmingly so. However, Id love to see a replay/review feature so you can go back through the game once youve finished and review it step by step. This would definitely help the learning curve with go and make it less frustrating.
Go --the game that imitates war or even life itself-- on my pocket computer finally :-)
Thanks for making this app happen.
Igowin is the most beautiful and engaging game on the iPhone. The game of Go has been popular for more than 2,500 years, and for good reason. Its a game that you can learn for years and decades, and it becomes more interesting as your proficiency grows. Igowin makes the game deceptively simple to learn, and continually motivating to engage. Its the one game on the iPhone that I will continue to play for years. (I was in the beta program.)
This application works just as well on my iPod as the original Igowin worked on my PC. I just recommended it to a friend who wants to learn how to play go. He asked me where he can find something along the line of "Go For Dummies". With Igowin he gets a good tutorial along with a player who will give a proper handicap.
Ive never been too good at go, but after only a few games with this app I could already sense an improvement in my game. Only thing I would change is giving an option for larger boards.
Would be great to play even 13x13, but I still play several times a day. Looking forward to besting it conclusively one day
Some bad moments
As much as I like Many Faces of Go, I am a bit disapointed that this app currently only allows 9x9 versus computer.
Thats a big disapointment for me. I wish u could select board size. Until then smart go pro is better.. At least description in app store should say its limited.. Would have saved me 4$
It is much more limited than youd think a $2.99 app should be.
Very dissapointed. The description should CLEARLY indicate the limitations of this app. First off, its only a 9x9 board. It has only one mode of play. I have no idea where they got the second screen capture shown above; I cant find it on my app, and it insinuates that this program can go to 11x11 at least. There are more annoyances; read the other reviews and most of the problems are mentioned. This is probably an ok app for the novice player, but forget it if you have more experience.
This is useless for me; nevertheless Im going to now check out Igowin PRO and parse the description carefully.
UPDATE: Badly needs an iOS 7 update. Also an update for the iPhone 5 screen size. "Resign" button is broken.
Previous review:
First of all, it is great to see Smart Games bring the powerful Many Faces of Go go-playing engine to the iPhone. Since it is different, and perhaps better, than the GNU Go engine used by many of the other iPhone Go playing programs, it is worth the price alone just to have MFoG on your iPhone. Having said that, however, there are some serious limitations. First of all, there is no way to manually set the level. Since I loose every time at 4 kyu, but win every time at 5kyu, it is frustrating to constantly have to play another 5kyu game before going back to play 4kyu. Secondly, there is no way to review games. Since review is an important part of learning Go, this is a serious limitation for students of the game. Finally, it should be mentioned that this game is limited to a 9x9 board, I look forward to a more full featured game with a standard 19x19 board sometime in the near future.
