# TrickMate — A card-powered twist on chess

> A card-powered twist on chess (iPhone/iPad app by FlrtAlert.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/trickmate/id6809022565 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [FlrtAlert](https://appshunter.io/developer/459422918)
- Category: Games, Board, Strategy
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.1 · 26 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-09-24
- Data updated: 2026-10-06
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/trickmate/id6809022565/reviews.md

## What is TrickMate?

TrickMate is real chess with one addition: a deck of 50 Tricks that bend the rules.

Swap two of your own pieces. Move a pawn twice. Bring a captured piece back from the graveyard. Your opponent can see it coming - and if they are holding a Cancel, they can stop it dead.

Nearly every Trick is restricted, so the deck rarely lands the finishing blow on its own. It buys you a tempo, an escape, a second chance. The chess still has to be good.

- Real chess underneath, fully validated on the server
- 50 Tricks across 15 types, drawn as you play them
- Play several games at once, a move a day or all in one sitting
- Get told when it is your move, even with the app closed
- Sign in with a phone number to keep your games on every device
- Ratings, rankings, and your record against every opponent
- Nudge an opponent who is holding things up, or concede gracefully
- Free, no ads

Signing in is optional. Your phone number is stored as a one-way hash and is used only to recognise you across your own devices.


## Version history (last 4 releases)

### 1.0.4 — 2026-10-05

Take a Trick back.

A Trick you've played but not yet used can now be handed straight back to your hand — on your phone and on your Apple Watch, which until now had no way out of one. Your Watch also tells you which Trick is in force and what it can't do.

Also fixed:
- Playing against the computer: it could cancel its own Trick before you got the chance to answer it. Your Cancel now always gets its turn.
- Checkmate, stalemate and draws now take account of the Tricks you're holding and the Trick in force, so games no longer end while you still have a move.
- A card can no longer promote a pawn — it promotes by reaching the last rank under its own power.
- Challenge anyone straight from the Rankings table.
- Fewer taps to play a Trick.

### 1.0.3 — 2026-09-28

Play on your Apple Watch.

TrickMate now has a watch app: see whose move it is, play a move, and play a Trick from your wrist. Pair it with the code your phone shows under Play on another device.

Also in this update:
- Play the computer, without waiting for an opponent.
- A Trick can no longer deliver checkmate outright.
- The app now tells you when a new version is waiting in the App Store, instead of saying you are up to date.
- Nudges, slaps and punches make a sound.

### 1.0.2 — 2026-09-26

Nudges, slaps and punches now make a sound.

Also in this update:
- Connects on networks that block WebSockets, including some hotel and guest Wi-Fi.
- Falls back to a second route if the first is unreachable, and retries when you switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data.
- No longer stalls on the loading screen when the network is refusing it.
- A Trick can no longer deliver checkmate outright.
- Fixes a duplicate alert when someone poked you.

### 1.0.0 — 2026-09-24

No release notes.

## More apps by FlrtAlert

- [FlrtAlert](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flrtalert/id459422915)

All apps by FlrtAlert: https://appshunter.io/developer/459422918

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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 2026-10-06.*