SmartGo Player

This is a good Go app, but suffers from two major problems in "autohandicap" mode. 1) The AI gets smarter at the same time as you lose handicap. This leads to level transitions where you will win 90% of games on one level and lose 90% of games on the next level. Thanks to point (2), you can be stuck in this boring, frustrating loop for a very long time. 2) The automatic downleveling mechanic makes it very difficult to adapt to the new difficulty. Once you go up a level it's very easy to lose three times. The fact that I then have to spend 10-15 minutes winning three easy games to get back to that challenge kills my motivation to keep playing. My suggestions to the dev: - Double the number of levels to make the difficulty curve smoother. When a player levels up, take away a handicap stone first, then make the AI smarter, and alternate from then on. - Make automatic downleveling optional. Let me hit my ahead against the wall if I want to. If the concern is that someone could accidentally win 3 games and advance, increase the number of consecutive wins required to level up as a function of consecutive losses. It's true that I could simulate these rules by using manual handicap instead of automatic, but I don't want to have to keep track of these things myself.

i'm really slow to pick up on Go but i love the game and SmartGo has been of more help than any tutorial. i simply keep playing, making moves not necessarily to win but to see the results, sometimes self-explanatory e.g. i didn't see a capture coming, or other times i need to back up a move and turn on the graph territory overlay before and after i drop a piece & SmartGo responds. i sometimes wish there were "opponent difficulty" settings for the "AI" but that's probably silly since you can (auto or manual) handicap. i learn a lot playing with a 5 stone handicap (i need 6 to compete hehe) then using hints for a follow-along example of how to win with a handicap i can't sustain yet. i play every day and learn and lose and win and laugh and punch my mobile in the face etc.. wonderful app.

Paid for the app so not thrilled at the issues. When the move count gets too high, the iPad app responds more slowly and crashes. I play the big board, American rules, at fastest play settings. The game uses pass way too often. It seems that passshouodnt happen so many times in a row. Then, if I decide to pass first and I'm losing at the time, the game takes a second pass to acquire the win - instead of just playing the game. Why? I just started learning and playing last night (24 hrs ago) and although I haven't won, I feel great about losing at +6 1/2 points! This is because the tutorial is amazing! I do wish the (total current) score stayed visibleat the top of the screen instead of having to request it. I also wish I could play as black, it's easier to see all of the black stones on the ipad.

ask user to change the rating

The app description led me to believe it taught the game. It doesn't. It simply corners you with the optimal move and often can't even beat itself if the hint system is used every move. The handicap system allows it to go first every time and since it knows the optimal move for every situation, you are not going to win any game that doesn't stump it within a few moves. If the board is full, it's going to beat you. The tutorials show and don't tell. There is no follow up to correct answers explaining why it's the best move. I would really like a refund as this isn't fun and is no substitute to playing a human. I came to learn how to fine tune my strategy, not watch a algorithm play out.

This is a great app for learning and improving your game. I also recommend "Tsumego pro" (a tactics app) and "Pandanet go" (a great way to play against humans) once you understand the basics. This app will teach you the rules (the app follows all the rules... It doesn't cheat as stated by some reviewers) and it will teach you some basic tactics and strategy. Then you can practice and see how good you get at one of the most complex games ever.