Go Games for Windows Laptops

[Timza]

Hello, I am new here. I am a beginner. I am not afraid of losing lots of games. I am looking for a stand alone Windows Go program to play Go games against when I am not connected to the internet in any way. I can connect to the internet to install. But then later not to play. Which game would play against me more like a human? Forget about look and feel and catalog of historical games and teaching and problems and play against other go engines in a world cup match and price. Simply put, which one right now has a go software engine that would play most like a human and therefore be most helpful to me? I have been looking at the below:

Moyo Go Studio, $27
SmartGo for Windows, $39
Crazy Stone 2013, $80
Many Faces of Go $90

[Yertle]

I own all four of these programs.

Moyo go Studio hasn't been updated in years and doesn't have a play against the computer feature so I would cross this off the list.
Crazy stone has the best playing engine out of these if that is your main focus.
Both MFOG and smartgo are nice well rounded programs that you can play against and have other nice features, I would give a nod to smartgo between the two as it is under more active development.

[Timza]

The SmartGo site and software looks pretty nice. I could use all of SmartGo's capabilities for learning and then play against Crazy Stone. I would have no problem doing something like that.

[Mike Novack]

If, as you say, you are a beginner, MFOG 12 would cost you nothing to get started. The "free trial version" is supposed to play about 18 kyu and I believe it includes the easy problem set. You pay $90 to get the rest of it unlocked. Also note, more or less a "site license" price << you can have it on multiple devices. If several members of a family want it, could be one of the cheaper paid programs >>

It is only after you "graduate" from the free version of MFOG 12 that you should reconsider paying for a program.

Also you might consider that before MCTS programs came along, the strongest AI programs were playing at about 6 kyu and you won't be there for a while. << MFOG 11 or Go++7 >> Now I'm not suggesting that you BUY a copy of one of those. But you could check with the developers whether they cared if somebody gave you a copy. Mick Reiss failed to get go++8 (his try at MCTS) to be competitive with the others (I was beta testing for him) so while he still has a site up purporting to sell go++7 you might try him. All he could do is say no.

[Timza]

There are times when I am off the grid and can not play go against real people in person or real people over the internet. Therefore, I am looking for go game software for my Windows laptop.

I do not want my decision to be based on cost or strength of play. I do not want to pick software because it is the latest world champion. I do not want to pick an older, weaker software because it is free or cheaper.

I want to pick software that is seen by people who would know as having the most human-like play.

Right now this looks to be Crazy Stone 2013.