ARChess vs Starchess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ARChess
Experience classic chess with an augmented reality twist. Enjoy a realistic 3D design and interactive gameplay on any flat surface. Take back moves, automatically rotate the board, and reposition it during your game.
- Augmented reality chess board projection
- Realistic 3D design
- Hot-seat multiplayer mode
- Play against AI
- Take back moves
- Automatic board rotation
- Board repositioning
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Something simple and fundamental, like classic chess game, gets a real AR boost in this app. Now all chess fans can shift from their regular boards and enjoy the game on the phone. With super cool 3D design, it’s now more realistic than ever. For starters, the functionality is limited to hot-seat game mode, i.e. two players play on 1 device or 1 player conduct a battle with the machine. We decided to leave something from a classic indoor game, at least players can discuss the game in real or beat a computer genius. In the future versions, it will be possible to support multi device mode to play the game by two players remotely on one chess board. Furthermore, chess tournaments, results saving ranking table are in the plan. We’ve used the ARKit in surface recognition (any contrasting horizontal surface can be used for chess board projection). Besides, we’ve taken into account the main complaints and wishes on the chess app market. Unlike the majority on the App Store, our app allows: - taking back moves (if you accidentally drop the piece on the wrong square, now there is an option to correct it) - automatically turning board around when playing - repositioning a board during the game Chess is our favorite office game. This ARChess app gives a new life to the classic game, moving it to the ‘new dimension’.
Starchess
Experience chess with a unique twist on a three-dimensional board. Pieces gain new movement capabilities, allowing for strategic plays in up, down, and diagonal directions. Enjoy a fresh challenge to your chess skills.
- Three-dimensional chess board
- Traditional chess rules
- Expanded piece movement (up, down, diagonal)
- Unique strategic gameplay
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Starchess has all of the same rules as traditional chess but now on a three-dimensional board. Pieces can move up, down and diagonally.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Starchess at 5.0 against ARChess's 4.2. ARChess's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (16 vs 1). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Starchess holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ARChess has 16 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
ARChess ships an update every 5 weeks, Starchess every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ARChess | Starchess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (16 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 308 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CHISW Development LTD | Nathan Lane |
Customer experience
ARChess
Starchess
In-app purchases
ARChess
No in-app purchases
Starchess
No in-app purchases
