Crazy Stone Deep Learning -The First Edition-

First things first – this game will not teach you the rules of Go. If you’re a total beginner, this isn’t the game for you: there’s no tutorial, and the documentation is very basic, so if you’ve never played Go before, please check out some of the excellent resources available on the web first. (One excellent place to start would be Reddit at /r/baduk – Baduk being the Korean name for the game.) If you already know how to play, then the question you should ask is, is this game for you? The obvious thing the game offers you is the AI. Rated up to 7d, this is the most powerful commercially available Go AI, and can challenge all but the most skilled amateurs. Its minimum setting of 13k, on the other hand, should match up pretty well against anyone with more than a handful of games’ experience. In addition, the game supports handicaps up to 9 stones, and based on a couple of games, it does a good job of playing handicap Go (far from universal amongst Go AIs). So whi...

When Crazy Stone deep learning first came out, it was one of the earliest "really good" programs you could buy and play against. It's well made, for most people very strong, simple and easy to use. It's also possible to "review" games, and look for better moves. It's a nice program to play for every amateur GO player and Go enthusiast out there. But other AIs got better really fast. LeelaZero dominates CrazyGo completely and is free and easy to use for everyone who wants. Other negative remark about this game: it's finished. Other AIs are still developing, but CrazyStones has never seen an update once. Ever. You can call it Abadonware. So why buy this at 70-80EUR/USD? --> You don't, it's simple as that. Not even for 20 bucks. Maybe for 10. A GO AI which plays 4-5D Amateur isn't worth anything nowadays.

This is a pretty good game. But with 2020 around the corner, it should really cost at most $20, not $114.95 (for me). Some things I like about it: - nice interface & info presentation - lots of features done well: save to SGF with move numbers, replay from a certain point as human / AI / both / neither / swapped, winning % bar, AI works for all board sizes, deep analysis (need good PC, I didn't understand it well either) - can play offline However there are huge cons: - PRICE - windows only - AI plays weird at lower levels, not really like a player of that skill level - no updates I would recommend you take your $ and support online-go.com, which basically is better than this in every way: - free - also has good interface & presentation - AI at every level that plays naturally like that level! - if you donate some $ each month (like $5 = coffee), you can get pro level analysis & move suggestions at any point in game; otherwise you get 3 biggest losing plays of your game and alternati...

Its a lie. Its not 7 dan. Its barely 1-2 dan on KGS on typical computer with i7. Dont buy it guys.

Strong engine, plays almost like a human - I haven't seen any funny robot-style moves yet. Anyone except complete beginners can play against it. The lowest strength the engine can play is 13k - if you add handicap to that, then even ~20k players can get some benefit. The user interface seems dated, but don't let that fool you - underneath it there's a great Go engine that plays a strong game and doesn't suffer from the usual issues of previous generation engines. One issue is that the engine doesn't speak the GTP protocol, so you can't use it with a generic UI like GoGui. If they add GTP in an update, it would be great.

has been way too expensive even when it came out many years ago, has few functions and no friendly UI at all (which could be expected at 60€), and received none of the promised updates

Incredible! I've been playing Weiqi for a while before getting this software, and now play at about 4-kyu, and I'm greatly impressed by the AI of Crazy Stone Deep Learning. I usually play against the 7d computer level on 19x19 when I have a lot of time. 6d or 5d when I'm in the mood for a quick game. 3k to 1d when I'm feeling like trying to beat a stronger opponent. The higher levels teach me a lot about the game. Mistakes at my level are quickly punished by the AI. I often use the [estimate] Territory function when experimenting against stronger levels so I can see what works and what doesn't, and why. The interface, music and sound effects are simple but quite comfortable. I look forward to The Second Edition. Of course, I also do some study from books and videos online to make best use of my "Go" time, so I can improve faster and enjoy playing this and stronger human players even more. Very well worth the money if you're serious about improving your game!! It's rare I can ever pla...

I bought the game even with that ridiculous price tag thinking that at least it would be like the mobile version. It is way inferior to the mobile version where you can have graded games. This is a joke, right?

I love it. This is a nice board game and great AI inside.

There's a user-defined tag for this product that reads "casual." I can't really say that this product is for the most casual observer of Go/Igo/Weiqi/Baduk. However, what I can say is that if you're an amateur player looking for an AI Go sparring partner then here's your option on Steam. In fact, it appears to be one of the most compelling options at the moment for playing this game on Steam (the other being Tabletop Simulator if you have a friend). Verdict: If you want to Go it solo on Steam (all easy puns intended) and practice against one of the more competent AI's on the market, here is your choice. But for $80 let's hope that future updates or "The Second Edition" will be included. I'll recommend it for the purpose of hopefully inspiring more products such as this to hit the Steam Store. With even more hope, I'd like to see something like KGS or Tygem on here as well.