Kanji Drop vs Pocket Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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!
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.
- Hundreds of chess problems
- Checkmate in 2 and 4 puzzles
- Simplified boards for pattern recognition
- Improve chess game
- Learn chess patterns faster
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Kanji Drop | Pocket Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (28 ratings) | 4.6 (15K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 61.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 28 | 15K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #134 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 187 MB | 199 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | International Technology Consulting LLC | Lessmore GmbH |
Customer experience
Kanji Drop
Pocket Chess
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
Kanji Drop
- 100 Coins$4.99
- 500 Coins$5.99
- 1000 Coins$6.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- 2000 Coins$9.99
Pocket Chess
- Small Coin Bundle$1.99
- Remove Ads2 variants$4.99
- Starter Package2 variants$4.99
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Event Offer$4.99
- Medium Coin Bundle$5.99
- Large Coin Bundle$11.99
- Super Coin Bundle$25.99
Questions
Is Kanji Drop free?
Is Pocket Chess free?
Which has better reviews, Kanji Drop or Pocket Chess?
Do Kanji Drop or Pocket Chess have ads?
Which is updated more often, Kanji Drop or Pocket Chess?
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