# Deep Green — user reviews > 212 indexed App Store user reviews of Deep Green by Cocoa Stuff, rated 3.90/5 from 72 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/deep-green/id299471086/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/deep-green/id299471086.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 45 · 4★ 5 · 3★ 4 · 2★ 4 · 1★ 14 ## What do users think of Deep Green? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🌟 Elegant and polished design - 🤖 Strong chess engine - 👍 Intuitive and easy to use - 🎨 Beautiful graphics and animations - 🕹️ Smooth gameplay and controls **Cons** - 🐛 Crashes and stability issues - ⚠️ Lack of features (e.g. game saving, online play) - 🔍 Difficulty settings too challenging for some users - 🔕 Missing audio/sound effects - 📏 Board/pieces not optimized for larger screens **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes when promoting pawns - Board orientation issues when rotating device - Unresponsive UI elements - Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions **Most requested features** - Game saving and loading functionality - Online/multiplayer mode - Customizable board/piece themes - Difficulty settings for beginners - Indicators for check, checkmate, and draw ## Newest reviews (13 of 212) ### 4/5 — Neat-o *2026-02-11* It doesn’t draw after threefold repetitions, otherwise, great app, very clean. ### 2/5 — Шахматы *2026-01-17, version 2.0.3* После обновления, пропала функция отмены ошибочного хода. Стало очень неудобно. ### 4/5 — Great at what it does. *2024-06-06, version 2.0* I have enjoyed using this, especially now that the Stockfish app for iPhone has disappeared from the App store. I just want a simple lightweight on-device chess program for user vs computer play. I have noticed a bug recently: -- you can accidentally move a piece if your finger slips on the board: the piece moves (e.g. a knight might move forward like a pawn), and then the piece is displayed in the new position even though the computer knows it is "really" in its previous position. This makes the game unplayable. -- there should be some indication of stalemate -- when you get a pawn to row 8 (or 1) you should be able to select the piece you want, as per the rules of the game. In many situations a rook is preferable because if you are playing an endgame with a queen or three it's far too easy to accidentally create a stalemate. I guess I would also want to be able to select an option for dark mode all the time. Otherwise, this is really good! ### 4/5 — Very nice chess game application *2024-05-30, version 2.0* Very good game. I just wish it had kept the green and wood theme and there was an option to play online with other opponents. ### 2/5 — Update needs work *2024-03-10, version 2.0* Not a fan of the low contrast update. The pieces don’t even line up with the baseline of each other vertically. Even the pawns don’t vertically line up. They seem random randomly placed inside the squares. Also not sure why they have drop shadows as if they’re laying on the board, which is a strange choice in my opinion. A flat look would look better than this low contrast partial 3D-ish look. At least offer the old theme as an option for the board and pieces which was gorgeous. For this update, I vastly prefer the 2D look of the pieces and the board in the list of current games. Everything is clearly visible and looks good. That’s what I was getting when I downloaded but once I clicked on a game, it made everything 3D-ish. Glad this is a maintainable app, but it would be nice if it added something else that was new. Honestly, the original graphics for the board/pieces could just be used and uprezzed and it would be great knowing that it was maintainable for 2.0, as I have a lot of fond memories of this app and it obviously has a lot of love. ### 2/5 — 2.0 BIG Step backward… *2023-12-17* The updated version lost so much character and life compared to the old version, which was beautiful and had wonderful sound design. Why oh why did you replace my favorite chess app with this lifeless white void? Maybe re-release the old version as classic or something? Please!!??? ### 4/5 — I miss the old aesthetic *2023-07-03, version 2.0* This is a great chess app but I personally miss the old design, which had so much charm, feels pretty generic now. ### 2/5 — another app gets mutilated *2023-05-14* This used to be such a great chess app with a simple, clear interface. The new facelift has made it unusable. Nothing works the same and the new visuals are a distraction at best. Oh well, I guess I have to find another chess app now. ### 3/5 — Needs update *2023-05-07* Although it has been many years coming for this update it is like a beta version that needs more work. ### 1/5 — Deep green reborn *2023-04-29* This version is a serious degradation of the original deep green for which I paid good money and expected to keep without revision. Plus I wasn’t asked if I wanted to upgrade. It just happened. I’m very disappointed in this wholly unexpected change. ### 4/5 — Great but I miss the original *2023-04-24, version 2.0* It’s a shame that they’ve lost the “clockwork, wood and felt” aesthetic from the original in favour of this flat minimalism. The sound effects are gone, too. ### 3/5 — Is the new design permanent? *2023-04-24* The main reason I bought this game was the gorgeous design, and the new design just look like a generic life-less chess app :( The old icon is also 10x nicer than the new one… Is there any chance of making the old green-classic them & app icon be an option? I am currently holding back from updating the app 😬😬 Thank you!! ### 1/5 — poor modern ui *2023-04-24, version 2.0* end of rich design.lol ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Latest update ruined this game. *2026-02-12* I used to love and play this chess app every single day. But, the latest update, 2/26, took away the ability to take back or replay moves, which completely takes away the game’s use as a learning tool. You can no longer back up and try different moves and outcomes. Features have been stripped away slowly for years, but this is the last straw for me. I’m now looking for another chess app. Very sad. :( ### 1/5 — Unresponsive *2024-12-07, version 2.0* Not working iOS 18 ### 1/5 — Ruined by tasteless redesign! *2024-11-10* This previously beautiful chess game was completely ruined by an utterly tasteless and unimaginative redesign. Deep Green Chess is now a pathetic and shallow black & white, and is riddled with flaws and crashes. Look elsewhere, chess lover... there's nothing to see here! ### 1/5 — Not working with iOS 18.0 *2024-10-04, version 2.0* The icon for starting a new bars nor any other menu icons are working ### 1/5 — This App used to be BEAUTIFUL! *2024-06-03, version 2.0* It’s a shame they made the design of the app way too minimal and bland… it’s hard to look at and boring to look at… I used to love playing this app. It would be awesome if you have users the option to toggle back to the old design. This new UI is simply awful. ### 1/5 — Bring Back Deep Green! *2023-12-24, version 2.0* Don’t like this at all! More like Deep Grey, not Deep Green. Epic fail developers. Get off the PC bespoke bandwagon guys, and get some colour back into the game. ### 1/5 — 2.0 ruined this game *2023-08-20* Version 2.0 ruined my once favorite game. V 2.0 crashes constantly, about every 5th game or more (on a 2022 ipad pro). It now takes 4 clicks to get a new game, versus a one-click restart in the old version. The sound effects are gone. The new interface and animations are ugly. I loved the old wood and felt look. At least leave us the choice. I used to play Deep Green every day. But now I’m very sad, and looking for something else. ### 1/5 — New look?!? *2023-06-06, version 2.0* Really preferred the old version, don’t care very much for this at all. Totally regret updating to this grey scale blandness. ### 1/5 — The worst *2023-05-02, version 2.0* The worst update ever ### 1/5 — Redesigned app not working on iPad mini *2023-05-01* I opened the app after the update, opened my game in progress, then went back to the games page and deleted my in-progress game in order to start fresh. Now, I’m stuck on an unresponsive “Games” page—neither the “+” icon in the upper-right, nor the knight icon in the upper-left respond to taps. I’ve quit the app, as well as reinstalled it completely, with no change. 6th-gen iPad mini with iOS 16.3.1 installed. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Buena *2025-03-24, version 2.0.2* Ta’ bacán ### 5/5 — Longtime favorite *2024-06-07* Deep Green has been a favorite since my Newton. Great chess game that is well designed. ### 5/5 — LOVE this app! *2024-04-01, version 2.0* This is my favorite chess app. Been using it since first release. Updated version is just as awesome. Serene, clean, powerful when you want it to be, and simply one of the best chess UI I've played. Sorry to hear about your dad Joachim, it's a fitting legacy. And if you read this, I would really love the option to add a bit of colour, perhaps an option to use the old green interface? ### 5/5 — Reborn‼︎ *2023-04-28, version 2.0* thank you very much ### 5/5 — Best Chess App *2023-04-25, version 2.0* Simple. Gorgeous. Perfect. ### 5/5 — Major UI Change READ BEFORE UPDATING *2023-04-25* This chess app is top notch—always has been. No other app is as enjoyable to use. BUT! This new update is a major change to the wooden board and pieces. It is no longer the green felt and classic wood. Look at the new version previews and make sure you’re ok with that before you update. The classic wood board is not an option. I wish it was. Also, the Steampunk engine’s gears no longer make noise. I miss both that and the old wood board. ### 5/5 — Most beautiful chess app! *2023-04-24* I’m happy to see that this app has been updated! It hasn’t left my phone since I downloaded it a decade ago. ### 5/5 — Prone to CRASHES *2023-03-29* For years I have enjoyed playing chess using Deep Green but over that time it has become prone to crash. Often it will crash in the midst of a game but it can be restarted and resumes back where it was. But there are time when it crashes in the midst of an intense contest and restarting the application avails nothing; the board will flash back and immediately crash again. Fortunately, I have actually been able to capture the fatal board setups with a very quick screen shot to later continue on a more competent platform. I would consider this a fatal flaw for Deep Green especially considering that the last time this app was updated was at least 7 years ago at the time of this review; obsolete. Ostensibly the developers have become complacent. ### 5/5 — Beauty crafted and polished *2017-06-29* This chess app is the best I've found. I'm not a strong player - so the lower levels allow me to have some less strenuous matches. I can also ratchet up the brains for a real challenge. I also appreciate the developer continually not charging again for the added functionality of new screen sizes. I enjoy using this chess program and am very happy the money I spent went to such a great developer. (Rotating the iPad is one of the best easter eggs I've seen in iOS for some time - so beautiful and delightful!) ### 5/5 — Simple, Elegant, Excellent! *2017-02-25, version 1.2.3* With its refreshingly high level of user-friendliness and visual elegance, the Deep Green chess app absolutely outstanding! Bravo! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-30.*