Gomoku, also called "Five in a Row", is a popular strategy game played on a 15x15 grid board, with two players compete to first obtain an unbroken row of five pieces horizontally, vertically or diagonally, similar to Mega Tic Tac Toe reviewed here.

If you have played Five in a Row, you probably will have noticed that the first player who makes the first move has a big advantage over the second player. A computer search by Victor Allis even proved that the first player could force a win with perfect play.

Indeed, some opening rules such as Pro, Swap or Swap2, are implemented to eliminate the advantage for the first player.

This superb mobile app Tito Gomoku lets you play Five in a Row with Pro rules in addition to free rules. With Pro rules, the first player's second move must be placed outside the 5x5 grid in the center of the board, and a row of six or more, called an "overline", does not count for both players and the game continues.

Besides giving you an option for opening rules, this app is a great tool to hone your skills and trace your progress in Gomoku. It lets you start out the game at a rating of 1000 against computer opponents; your rating is adjusted higher when you win, and lower when you lose.

You have a choice of playing the game against a human buddy, or any of the computer AI with different strengths and styles of play. Two board designs with different pieces are provided. To swap between them, just tap the pieces on top of the screen.

Tito Gomoku is free from ads and currently available for Android mobile devices only.  Read More