Comparison

Kanji Drop vs Pocket Chess

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

Head to head
About

Kanji Drop

This app teaches Japanese kanji through a unique block-dropping game. Construct kanji from their components and form words from existing kanji to progress. It offers a fun and engaging method for learners of all levels, from beginners to advanced.

Highlights
  • Build kanji from parts
  • Form words from kanji
  • Audio pronunciation of words
  • Import Anki/WaniKani decks
  • JLPT and textbook lesson filters
  • Beginner to advanced levels
Features
Read full description

Learn Japanese kanji by dropping blocks to make kanji and words! Make kanji from their parts and words from other kanji! Blow them up by making words! Fill your limit meter by making kanji from others and watch your blocks blow up! It's a great way to learn kanji for beginners, a fun alternative to flashcards for advanced learners as you can import your Anki, WaniKani, and Koohii decks, and a fun game overall! :D Learn all Japanese jouyou kanji for fun or proficiency. Every time you make a word or kanji, its meaning is spoken and you also hear the pronunciation of words. You also learn how to make kanji from their parts, just like in Remembering the Kanji, Vol. 1, by James Heisig. You can restrict learning to JLPT 1-5 kanji or textbook lessons from popular Japanese textbooks! Open to all skill levels! It starts off easy and gives you hints when you're stuck. Keep playing and you'll find yourself recognizing more and more kanji! You can select Easy/Learning mode to have more time to read about the kanji and words you make!

About

Pocket Chess

Enhance your chess skills with hundreds of challenging chess problems and puzzles. This app focuses on simplified boards to help you quickly recognize chess patterns and improve your game.

Highlights
  • Hundreds of chess problems
  • Checkmate in 2 and 4 puzzles
  • Simplified boards for pattern recognition
  • Improve chess game
  • Learn chess patterns faster
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Pocket Chess helps you improve and brush up on your Chess by offering hundreds of thought provoking Chess problems and Chess puzzles. From Checkmate in 2 to Checkmate in 4 and much more! Pocket Chess is a new way to learn and improve at Chess. Featuring boards that are small and simple, important pieces are in focus so that you can learn to recognise Chess patterns faster and quicker. Improve your Chess Game and Download Now for free!

Screenshots

Kanji Drop4 screens
Pocket Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pocket Chess at 4.6 against Kanji Drop's 4.1. Pocket Chess also leads on ratings volume (15K vs 28) and chart position (#134 vs unranked). Kanji Drop's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Kanji Drop sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Pocket Chess sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pocket Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Chess has 15K ratings behind it against 28, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Kanji Drop's written reviews are positive against 61% of Pocket Chess's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kanji Drop ships an update every 3 weeks, Pocket Chess every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Kanji Drop versus Pocket Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKanji DropPocket Chess
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (28 ratings)4.6 (15K ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews61.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2815K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#134 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size187 MB199 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInternational Technology Consulting LLCLessmore GmbH

Customer experience

Kanji Drop

All ratings28 ratings
Positive82.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative17.9%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral3.8%
Negative46.2%

Pocket Chess

All ratings14,583 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral2.6%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews1,319 reviews
Positive61.3%
Neutral7.8%
Negative30.9%

Bugs and requests

Kanji Drop

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Pocket Chess

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Progress data loss
  • Incorrect checkmate solutions
  • Game freezing after certain moves

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to review past puzzles
  • More advanced puzzles and levels
  • Option to disable audio/music
  • Sync progress across devices

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Kanji Drop

One-time4
  • 100 Coins$4.99
  • 500 Coins$5.99
  • 1000 Coins$6.99
Show 1 more
  • 2000 Coins$9.99
7 purchases

Pocket Chess

One-time7
  • Small Coin Bundle$1.99
  • Remove Ads2 variants$4.99
  • Starter Package2 variants$4.99
Show 4 more
  • Event Offer$4.99
  • Medium Coin Bundle$5.99
  • Large Coin Bundle$11.99
  • Super Coin Bundle$25.99

Questions

Is Kanji Drop free?
Kanji Drop is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pocket Chess free?
Pocket Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Kanji Drop or Pocket Chess?
Pocket Chess is rated higher. Kanji Drop averages 4.1 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while Pocket Chess averages 4.6 from 15K ratings.
Do Kanji Drop or Pocket Chess have ads?
Both Kanji Drop and Pocket Chess show ads.
Which is updated more often, Kanji Drop or Pocket Chess?
Kanji Drop ships an update every 3 weeks, and Pocket Chess every 2 months. Most recently, Kanji Drop was updated on November 2, 2026 and Pocket Chess on November 12, 2026.

Other comparisons