Go | Game Brain — video game discovery

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Go is a single player and multiplayer casual strategy game. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

The beautiful oriental game. Strongest Go/Baduk on Google Play! 18 Kyu to 3 Dan

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79%Audience ScoreBased on 620 reviews

gameplay9 positive mentions

monetization147 negative mentions

Great app for beginners with multiple difficulty levels and customizable board sizes to learn and practice Go.
Clean and simple interface with useful features like territory visualization, undo/redo moves, and local multiplayer on the same device.
Strong and scalable AI that provides challenging gameplay and helps improve strategic thinking.

Intrusive and excessive ads, some unskippable or forcing app store redirects, greatly disrupting gameplay experience.
Free version is limited by move caps on the full-size (19x19) board, requiring payment to play complete games at full board size.
Lack of tutorial or hands-on teaching mode for new players; rules explanations are text-heavy and not beginner-friendly.

monetization
152 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
Monetization for the game primarily relies on ads, which vary from minimal and unobtrusive to frequent, long, and sometimes unskippable, causing frustration for many users. While some appreciate the reasonable ad placement and understand the need for revenue, numerous reports criticize aggressive ads with forced app store redirects and lack of exit options, making gameplay difficult. A paid version to remove ads is often desired but not always clearly offered, leaving some users feeling the monetization leans toward a cash grab rather than a balanced experience.
- “No ads during the game is a big plus point.”
- “No ads, works well and consistently.”
- “No ads and fun to play.”
- “The game was good for me to learn how to play but the ads between each game are way too long.”
- “I've seen comments from the developers that the ads are skippable after 5 seconds, but if you click the X or fast forward, it automatically takes you to the app store instead of back to the game. If you exit the app store and go back to the ad, you have to wait for the ad to finish or go back to the app store.”
- “I used to love the app, but the addition of long inescapable ads that refuse to close even after their videos expire made it entirely unplayable.”
gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
33%
17%
Gameplay is smooth and well-designed, offering great controls and multiple options for board sizes and modes, including two-player functions. Ads are infrequent and non-intrusive, though some users note the lack of an interactive tutorial and the need to memorize rules from lengthy text. The AI is challenging yet fair, making it a good choice for both beginners and experienced players, though full access requires purchasing the paid version.
- “I've never played Go before, but I felt like it provided a great time as I learned the mechanics of the game.”
- “The AI is difficult but not unfair, and the territory mechanic makes it easier to visualize what you are doing, and what your actions cause.”
- “Love different options for gameplay and board sizes.”
- “Rather than a tutorial, there are paragraphs listed in the 'how to play' portion of the main menu that tell the reader how to place a piece and some gameplay tips, leading to a button at the bottom of the page that guides you to an actual set of rules, which are also paragraphs long, that you must memorize in order to understand anything about the gameplay.”
- “They want us to buy the paid version by limiting the gameplay.”
- “As a beginner it's a good way to keep messing around with the mechanics of go.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
17%
25%
The graphics receive mixed feedback, with some users praising their aesthetic appeal and clarity, while others find them basic, outdated, or visually overwhelming. Overall, the visuals are considered functional and suitable for gameplay, though there is room for improvement in style and touch responsiveness.
- “However, the graphics are excellent and the moves of my opponent happen quickly and seem to be well placed.”
- “A one button touch always shows who is winning and losing, and it is worth repeating to say the graphics are excellent.”
- “Good overall experience with a well-built AI and good graphics but lacks a good tutorial.”
- “It is nice that it's completely free to play, but the graphics are really bad, and when placing a stone it selects the space above the one that I touch.”
- “The game itself is pretty nice, though graphics are a bit outdated, but unskippable ads ruin the overall experience, switching to another app.”
- “The art style can use work because it does not feel easy on the eyes.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users note the absence of an in-game music option and express frustration that ads lower their own music volume instead of pausing it, causing them to miss parts of their songs.
- “Could use a music option.”
- “The ads aren't intrusive, but they do turn my music down instead of pausing it, which I hate because then I miss some of my song.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game runs smoothly with a mostly good interface, though users suggest adding a performance percentage metric based on in-game actions to better track progress beyond win rates.
- “Runs smoothly, mostly good interface.”
- “Just a suggestion: instead of win percentage, there should be a performance percentage for each match based on territory, pieces captured, etc. (Useful when losing against the computer but still wanting to know your progress and ability improvement.)”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report occasional glitches in the AI's performance, causing uncertainty about the true stability and accuracy of its skill level.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game can be somewhat tedious, but players find it manageable by simply turning off connectivity to reduce interruptions.