# The Foolish King — learn & play chess

> Interactive fairy-tale chess adventure for learning and playing. (iPhone/iPad app by Stour Publishing Ltd.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-foolish-king/id1176961367 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Stour Publishing Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1137053696)
- Category: Education, Games, Board, Strategy
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 2.50/5 from 4 App Store ratings · 4 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 419 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2016-11-22
- Data updated: 2026-06-05
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-foolish-king/id1176961367/reviews.md

## What is The Foolish King?

The Foolish King - The Secret History of Chess

Long, long ago, when kings ruled the land, dragons filled the sky and magic still existed, two small children stumbled upon the game of chess. This is your chance to discover it with them . . . Join Pip and Holly on their magical fairy-tale adventure and become a chess master!

An interactive, smartly-designed, iPhone app that is the perfect introduction to chess for children and adults alike – ideal for children aged six and above.

Join The Foolish King chess league and play against others from anywhere in the world! 

The app helps children and adults to learn chess with its ‘How To Play’ section, they can practice against the computer or their friend/parent and can join the world wide chess league! The chess league has a leaderboard showing results of chess games by age ranking as well as overall. 

The app is part of the digital offering by The Foolish King - a magical fairy-tale storybook about the secret history of chess - written by Lord Price and brought vividly to life by Martin Brown, illustrator of the mega-selling Horrible Histories. 

Features: 
            
            ●   Learn
                               ￮   Learn chess basics through ‘How To Play’ tutorials 

            ●   About the book
                               ￮   Hear from the author of the book
                               ￮   Find out about the iPad app and other places to find The Foolish King storybook. 
            ●   Play
                               ￮   Play ‘The Foolish King Live’ against anybody else in the world! 
                               ￮   Play chess with the day and night creatures from the story
                               ￮   Play against the computer or your friend
                               ￮   Easy, medium and hard levels of the game available when playing vs computer 
                               ￮   Help and prompts when playing vs computer

            ●   World wide chess leaderboard 
                               ￮  See who is top of the leaderboard and how you are doing against others

            ●   Beautifully illustrated throughout

## Key features

- Learn chess basics with tutorials
- Play against computer, friends, or global players
- Interactive fairy-tale adventure
- World-wide chess leaderboard
- Easy, medium, and hard difficulty levels
- Help and prompts during gameplay

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Chess Game Opening Tutorials | $0.99 | one-time |
| Chess Game Mate In One Puzzles | $0.99 | one-time |
| 115 Sturling Pounds - Game Currency | $0.99 | one-time |
| 260 Sturling Pounds - Game Currency | $1.99 | one-time |
| 115 Sturling Pounds - Game Currency | $2.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (4 of 4)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-foolish-king/id1176961367/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Colors

*2019-12-28*

The colors of the game were very off setting I could barely tell where the enemy’s peace was

### 5/5 — Paul

*2017-04-15, version 1.5*

Impressive app! 
Great for kids and also people who love chess! Always people available to play in the live league which is rare on these types of chess apps.

### 5/5 — Great app and really teaches you chess

*2017-04-13, version 1.4*

This game has taught my kids (6 and 8) to play chess. They compete against each other as well as playing the live option to join the chess leagues. 
Great app that teaches the traditional game!

### 3/5 — Piece design confusing

*2016-12-25, version 1.2*

Love the game idea and league
But is it possible the pieces can be slightly redesigned as we are finding the bishops , king and rooks fairly confusing in their design.
My son plays a fair bit of chess but it was confusing even for him 
Other than that - brilliant - other tip would be a region ( as if two players are in different time Zones it might be good to know !)

## Frequently asked questions about The Foolish King

### How does The Foolish King teach chess?

The Foolish King teaches chess through interactive 'How To Play' tutorials. It breaks down the basics in an engaging, fairy-tale narrative suitable for beginners.

### Can I play The Foolish King offline?

The description mentions playing against the computer or a friend, which suggests offline play might be possible for those modes. However, the 'World wide chess league' feature requires an internet connection.

### What age is The Foolish King suitable for?

The app is ideal for children aged six and above, as well as adults. The age rating provided is 4+.

### How does The Foolish King compare to other chess apps?

This app differentiates itself with a magical fairy-tale theme and an integrated storybook element, making the learning process more immersive and less like a traditional educational tool.

### Is The Foolish King free to play?

The app is listed as 'Free' and is available for download without an upfront cost. It does, however, feature in-app purchases.

### How often is The Foolish King updated?

The latest version is 2.8.0, and it was last updated on November 27, 2025. This indicates a relatively recent update, suggesting ongoing support and development.

### What devices support The Foolish King?

The Foolish King is currently supported on iPhone and iPod devices, as indicated by the 'supportedDevices' field.

### What is the user sentiment for The Foolish King?

The app has a rating of 2.5 stars from 4 ratings. This suggests that while some users may find value, there is room for improvement based on overall user satisfaction.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.8.0 — 2025-11-27

- Updated for better compatibility with the latest devices
- Under the hood bug fixes and improvements

### 2.7.3 — 2018-07-25

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

Happy International Chess day! 

We've made a few small updates and squished some bugs! 

See you in the chess arena! 

Over and out!

### 2.7.2 — 2018-05-25

We have updated our signup process to comply with the GDPR regulations

### 2.7.1 — 2018-03-01

Squished a couple of small bugs that you may have experienced.

### 2.7 — 2017-11-20

Competition time! 

Join us for The Foolish King timed competitions. We’ve noticed that you’re getting better and better at playing in the league - so wanted to open take the next step and launch worldwide chess competitions.

Join in today for free! See you in the chess arena! 

Over and out! 

Woogle

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## More apps by Stour Publishing Ltd

- [The Foolish King - game & book](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-foolish-king-game-and-book/id1137053697)
- [WorkL](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/workl/id1298472962)
- [Engaging Works Enterprise](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/engaging-works-enterprise/id1500813228)

All apps by Stour Publishing Ltd: https://appshunter.io/developer/1137053696

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*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 2026-06-05.*
