Comparison

Mini Chess vs The Chess Lv.100

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Mini Chess

Enjoy a simplified, faster version of chess on your mobile device. Play against AI or a friend on a smaller board with fewer pieces. Ideal for beginners and quick matches.

Highlights
  • Simplified 6x6 chessboard
  • Fewer pieces (no knights/bishops)
  • Play against 3 AI levels
  • Local multiplayer mode
  • Quick matches
  • Beginner-friendly
Features
Read full description

The traditional game of chess made easier and quicker, perfect for iPhone and iPad. Download it now for free and start play in just 1 tap! Mini Chess is a modern simplified version of classic chess, perfect for playing on your phone and tablet, on your own, with 3 level of Artificial Intelligence, or with a friend on the same device (multiplayer). Play on a smaller chessboard (6x6), with less pieces (no knights and bishops) and have fun on more speedy matches than classic chess. Play straight away, with friends, online or solo, and every match takes just minutes. Mini Chess is also perfect for kids to start play the all-time-favourite classic board game. Kids and beginners will find it so easy to learn and to enjoy in just 1 tap and experts will love the new challenge of playing in a different setting. Thanks for playing!

About

The Chess Lv.100

Engage in classic chess with 100 adjustable difficulty levels, playable online against global opponents or offline. Improve your skills with review modes, hints, and game analysis. Challenge the computer to earn medals and unlock new board styles.

Highlights
  • 100 adjustable playing levels
  • Online multiplayer chess
  • Offline play against AI
  • Review mode and hints
  • Medal challenges
  • Save and load game records
  • PGN file support
Features
Read full description

The Chess Lv.100 has 100 adjustable playing levels based on the engine "Crazy Bishop" with very high quality graphics! --The Chess Online Enjoy Chess against players all over the world! --The Chess Offline Adjustable playing strength from 100 levels! You can choose the strength of the computer from 258 to 2300 in ELO rating. Level 1 is extremely weak, and Level 100 is extremely difficult to beat! The Chess has 100 different levels of play from beginner to expert! --Brilliant features to improve your game Review mode, saving and loading game records, hint facility, all the features are provided for you to improve your game. --Challenge to win medals by defeating computer! You will be rewarded new board style and pieces design by collecting medals. --Features Adjustable playing strength from 100 levels! Human vs Computer, Human vs Human (sharing a single device) Computer gives your level evaluation by ELO rating in rating mode, very useful for tracking your progress Enter and analyze any position you like in edit mode Hint facility to improve your game Review mode during a game Save/Load game records Supporting PGN file for both reading and writing Enable to view full game history in the game record and restart game from the selected move, which should be very practical for improving your chess Autosaves your current game ■Premium Membership Subscribe and enjoy The Chess more by becoming a Premium Member. ■The Benefits of Premium Members -Play Online games whenever you want. -Unlock all the Chess sets -Completely Ad free ■About the subscription -Premium members will be charged a subscription fee every month. -The Subscription will be renewed automatically unless cancelled more than 24 hours before the end of it's current period. ■About the payment -Premium Members will be charged the subscription fee to their iTunes Account. -The subscription will be auto-renewed within 24 hours from the end of it's current period, and Premium Members will be charged to their iTunes Account. ■ About the free trial period -If you register our subscription for the first time, you are entitled to a free trial of 7days. -The 8th day from the registration will be the renewal date, and monthly billing will automatically start. -If you cancel the subscription more than 24 hours before the renewal date, you will not be charged. ■How to cancel the subscription -From the app Touch Manage Subscription in the title screen and then touch Cancel Subscription. -From your device [Settings] -> Your account [Apple ID, iCloud, Media & Purchases] -> [Subscriptions] It is not possible to prorate usage fees, cancel or refund the subscription for the current month. After cancelling the subscription, you will still be a Premium Member until the current subscription period expires. ■Privacy Policy https://www.unbalance.co.jp/privacy/en/chessminna/ ■Terms of Use https://www.unbalance.co.jp/eula/en/chessminna/

Screenshots

Mini Chess4 screens
The Chess Lv.1004 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Mini Chess at every 3 weeks against The Chess Lv.100's every 3 months. Mini Chess also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 71%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). The Chess Lv.100's advantage is ratings volume (1.2K vs 345). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Mini Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and The Chess Lv.100 sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Mini Chess against 4.7 for The Chess Lv.100. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 345 and 1.2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of Mini Chess's written reviews are positive against 71% of The Chess Lv.100's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mini Chess ships an update every 3 weeks, The Chess Lv.100 every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Mini Chess versus The Chess Lv.100: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMini ChessThe Chess Lv.100
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (345 ratings)4.7 (1.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.9% of reviews — better70.5% of reviews
Number of ratings3451.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB196 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOutOfTheBit LtdUNBALANCE Corporation

Customer experience

Mini Chess

All ratings345 ratings
Positive89.0%
Neutral6.1%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews82 reviews
Positive82.9%
Neutral7.3%
Negative9.8%

The Chess Lv.100

All ratings1,213 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral4.0%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews78 reviews
Positive70.5%
Neutral6.4%
Negative23.1%

User reviews

Mini Chess

From 345 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast-paced, quick gameplay
  • 👍 Easy to learn and beginner-friendly
  • 🎮 Addictive and fun
  • 💡 Innovative simplified chess concept
  • ⚙️ Multiple difficulty levels

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Check notification animation interrupts gameplay flow
  • 😴 Gets repetitive and stale quickly
  • 🤖 AI makes too many mistakes, even on hard mode
  • 📺 Excessive and intrusive ads
  • ⚖️ Unfair perpetual check mechanics

The Chess Lv.100

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great learning tool
  • 🎮 Excellent game experience
  • 🧠 Helps improve brain connections
  • 🎨 Very good graphics

Room to improve

  • 🤖 Too many and too long advertisements
  • 🕰️ Too many ads before and after games
  • 🔊 Random sound glitches and issues
  • 🔍 Difficulty level inconsistencies

Bugs and requests

Mini Chess

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Checkmate declared incorrectly with viable moves available
  • Queen positioned on wrong color
  • AI allows illegal moves to prevent player from winning
  • Stalemate not handled correctly
  • Perpetual check rules unfairly favor opponent

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add Knights and Bishops to piece options
  • Alternative piece combinations (2 Rooks + 2 Bishops)
  • Randomized starting positions
  • Landscape mode for iPad
  • Random color assignment (white/black alternation)
Show 5 more
  • Ability to play full traditional chess
  • Create custom board feature
  • Extremely hard difficulty level
  • Physical board version
  • Draw by repetition after 3 moves

The Chess Lv.100

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Pieces glitching when playing against other players
  • Incorrect game result determinations

Requested features

3 requests
  • Option to purchase the game to remove ads
  • Improved difficulty progression
  • Stable and consistent audio experience

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Mini Chess

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
1 purchases

The Chess Lv.100

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Membership7 Days trial$2.491 Month

Questions

Is Mini Chess free?
Mini Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is The Chess Lv.100 free?
The Chess Lv.100 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mini Chess or The Chess Lv.100?
The Chess Lv.100 is rated higher. Mini Chess averages 4.6 out of 5 from 345 ratings, while The Chess Lv.100 averages 4.7 from 1.2K ratings.
Do Mini Chess or The Chess Lv.100 have ads?
Both Mini Chess and The Chess Lv.100 show ads.
Which is updated more often, Mini Chess or The Chess Lv.100?
Mini Chess ships an update every 3 weeks, and The Chess Lv.100 every 3 months. Most recently, Mini Chess was updated on October 24, 2026 and The Chess Lv.100 on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons