Free, strong Go app — can be adjusted for beginners – Little Go Review

* Overview: This is a great Go app. Unfortunately, it's default settings are very strong, and its UI is not intuitive, which is why many other reviewers are unhappy. But if you're willing to dig in and adjust the settings, I think most players can enjoy it. Of course, it took me a while to figure out all those settings. * Initial settings: First things first: unless you're at least 2-3k, I recommend that when you start a new game, you use the initial screen that pops up to adjust the settings by switching the computer to "Fuego (weak)," turning off "even game," and then adding a handicap. * Strength: I'm an AGA 1d. After a couple of hours of playing 9x9 games, I was finally able to beat it at the default ("Fuego") setting without a handicap — but only once. My guess is that the default strength is at least 3d. I also tried playing against "Fuego (weak)," again without a handicap, and I was able to beat it most of the time, but not all the time. My guess is that it's about 2k. The app calls the "weak" setting a "1" and the default setting a "5", so I would tentatively say: "1" = 2k = Fuego (weak) "2" = 1k "3" = 1d "4" = 2d "5" = 3d = Fuego If you're below 2k, I recommend adding handicap stones accordingly. You may also want to adjust the default komi setting (7.5) using the "advanced settings" on that initial screen before playing. While you're there, you can also switch from area to territory scoring if you wish. * Personalizing: To create your own profile, click on "Settings" then "Players & Profiles" then "add new player," and chose a user name for yourself. * Further adjustments — how to make the "weak" profile weaker or the default profile stronger It's possible to adjust the strength settings. To weaken the "Fuego (weak)" profile, click on "Settings," then "Players & Profiles," then "Fuego (weak)," then "Display profile settings," then "advanced configuration" (just under "playing strength"). From there, you can adjust the "thinking time" slider from its default (10 seconds) all the way down to 1 second. Alternatively, to strengthen the default "Fuego" profile, click on "Settings," then "Players & Profiles," then "Fuego," then "profile" and select "extra strong". The strength stays at "5," but the Monte Carlo engine is given more time to think. Enjoy!
Review by Conrad Chaffee on Little Go.