SmartGo Kifu App Reviews

SmartGo Kifu is the best Go related app available for the IPad. If you play go and own an IPad, you should probably purchase this app. I have spent hundreds of hours using it, since it makes most every aspect of go study easier. The price is a bit higher than the average app, but you get what you pay for: something that is well designed, offering a lot without being cluttered, by a developer who is customer friendly, open to input and who releases updates that significantly improve the app, as opposed to just bug fixes. This is the sort of program that can be the difference between sustained interest and improvement in go and, well, frustration and disappointment. That said, it is much more an application for studying, and not for playing go, either online (you cannot play online through SmartGo) or against a computer (it offers an AI that is competitive on small boards, but not at 19 x 19) However that isnt such a big deal, since the strength of SmartGo Kifu is in its collection of pro games and problems (huge) and in its presentation of sgf files (totally brilliant). In particular, the book view option for viewing sgf files is without a doubt the best means available for viewing commented games. Imagine a go book with board diagrams that you can watch being played out and subtle visual distinctions to mark the difference between possible variations and the development of the game itself. This means that you dont fall unwillingly into one those click trances where you just passively take in the game (although, should one want to just relax and watch, theres an option to have it automatically proceed at a rate set by the user). How book view manages to reformat GTL reviews is pretty remarkable, and it makes them a lot easier to follow. In short, I use SmartGo Kifu to read Go Teaching Ladder game reviews, study games I played through various go servers (SmartGo can open sgf files from Safari), play through pro games in its collection either in the program itself or on my own board, and save information from Go books (joseki, fuseki, etc.) for easy reference later. This is the sort of stuff I would be doing anyway, but this app makes all of that a lot easier, and, to boot, lets me log in some time studying when Im sitting on the bus or waiting around.

This is the most expensive iOS app ive purchased but it has been worth every penny. Fantastic and thorough. I highly recommend it. Im a Go novice and it has been invaluable.

The best part (other than the engine) is the ability to review games and download SGF files, but studying Shusakus games for any wannabe go player is a MUST he achieved the rank of Kisei (or Gosei) in his life. This app comes stocked with games to review find a workshop and workthrough them with a teacher.

They are listed as included, but dont be deceived. At page 13 it pointed me to another app to purchase. But the description says 30 annotated games. I want my money back (I already have SmartGo Pro so this Kifu adds nothing except more real estate).

I am a poor college student and this was well worth 20 dollars. Im somewhat of a beginner with no one to really play against or learn from, but this app has everything from instructions to the novice to problems, tips, professional games, help, in game features like current estimated areas, etc. The AI is great to play against against. Im slowly working down my handicap (which it presets for you). The developers of this app not only blew the others out of the water, its like they decided to make the first automobile and rolled out an Aston Martin as their first car off the assembly line. Its that good.

Really the only thing that would make this better would be the ability to play panda or another go community online. Other than that, great app.

This is an absolutely outstanding app, and everything that it does, it does perfectly. However, I wish there was a way to play friends over wifi. Currently, there are no Go apps that allow you to do this. This is a thinking turn-based game, and it really lends itself to playing over wifi. If this app could ever do that, this would be my favorite iPad app, bar none.

The new feature is so useful for me to realize Joseki and Fuseki! I love it very much!

Well designed, lots of great content and exercises. The kifu is freaking awesome, even more so now with the joseki stats. Can it be more amazing? I dont normally write a review, but when I do I write it for my favorite app. Continue the great work!

Best Go game an the App Store.

Well thought out & very easy to use (even if you are new to go).

I love the kifu. The fact it saves every game you play as a editable kifu is great. The practice problems are a great way too keep improving even without playing a game. And being able to watch important games from the past is a great study tool. Over all this is better then any free app, definitely worth the money.

Wonderful app, especially since the joseki analysis became available. It would be nice if we could view SGF branches in some sort of tree diagram - it would making exploring multiple branches a lot easier. Also, perhaps a pattern search function for pro games? (As in mid and end game positions, not just joseki)

Seems pricy but for the quality and amount of content and features, its totally worth it.

The app has many wonderful features, but it virtually impossible to place a stone where you want it to go reliably. Placing a stone is such a simple feature that every other go app has done correctly, including free apps.

It may seem a bit expensive, especially when SmartGo Player is less than a quarter of the price, but its worth it. The biggest advantage is the ability to review your previous games, which is the best way to get better. Plus, it can receive SGF files (records of go games) from other apps on your device, by copy-pasting a URL, through email, and through copying-pasting the text of an SGF file. So, if youve got another go app, and you can get SGF files from it, you need this app! Whats more is that the actual, in-game review features are well implemented, too. If you dont need or want to look at the text notes, you can just drag the upper handle to the top. Do the same thing on the bottom to hide/show variations. You can decide just how much space the two take up, too. Additionally, you can zoom into and out of the game board.

The UI could be a bit more iOS friendly but the app is solid overall. Worth the money as a one stop resource for those still learning, which is most of us that would be looking for an app in the first place.

The update is ugly. I do not like the white background a bit. Sometimes people just change regardless of whether it is a good one.

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Wow, 3.0, what a great upgrade, thanks for all the hard work!