Mini Chess vs Chess Only
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Simplified 6x6 chessboard
- Fewer pieces (no knights/bishops)
- Play against 3 AI levels
- Local multiplayer mode
- Quick matches
- Beginner-friendly
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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!
Chess Only
Enhance your chess skills with instant analysis and tactical puzzles. This app offers a human-like engine with adjustable difficulty and an evaluation bar with blunder alerts. Play and study without distractions, with features like move trial and PGN saving.
- Instant game analysis
- Tactical puzzles
- Human-like engine (Elo 400-2500)
- Evaluation bar with blunder alert
- Try moves out of game play
- PGN file saving
- Over-the-board mode
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No ads. No network. No gimmicks. Chess Only! Instant analysis tells you why a move is good or poor instantly. Human-like engine gives you tactical puzzles; playing is studying. - optimized for saving battery power - human-like engine offering draw/resign (Elo 400 ~ 2500) - evaluation bar with blunder alert - try moves out of game play - instant game analysis and hint - game save to a pgn file - over-the-board mode - e-board (Millennium ChessLink) support
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Mini Chess at 4.6 against Chess Only's 4.0. Mini Chess also leads on ratings volume (345 vs 29). Chess Only's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and device support 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
Both are free to download. Mini Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chess Only asks for nothing beyond the download.
Mini Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mini Chess has 345 ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Mini Chess's written reviews are positive against 75% of Chess Only's.
Mini Chess ships an update every 3 weeks, Chess Only fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mini Chess | Chess Only |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (345 ratings) — better | 4.0 (29 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 82.9% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 345 — better | 29 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | OutOfTheBit Ltd | Young-Jo Song |
Customer experience
Mini Chess
Chess Only
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)
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- Ability to play full traditional chess
- Create custom board feature
- Extremely hard difficulty level
- Physical board version
- Draw by repetition after 3 moves
Chess Only
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Mini Chess
- Remove Ads$1.99
Chess Only
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Mini Chess free?
Is Chess Only free?
Which has better reviews, Mini Chess or Chess Only?
Do Mini Chess or Chess Only have ads?
Which is updated more often, Mini Chess or Chess Only?
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