Chessplode vs Ancient Board Game Collection
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chessplode
This app offers a unique twist on chess where capturing a piece causes others in the same line and column to explode. It's designed to be fun and accessible, even for those who aren't skilled at traditional chess, offering both single-player and multiplayer modes.
- Exploding pieces on capture
- Real-time multiplayer battles
- User-created levels
- Local multiplayer mode
- AI opponent practice
- Customizable color themes
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Chessplode is modern chess for everyone, it makes chess fun even if you're bad ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, one simply move... can change all game. -- THE MODERN RULE -- Chessplode is pretty much like chess with a really BIG twist... - CAPTURE a piece and everything in the same LINE and COLUMN will EXPLODE... - But if a KING is in that LINE or COLUMN it will be a really *boring* chess capture (no explosions) -- THINK DIFF... *DISTINCT* -- This rule is pretty tricky, in regular chess you need to defend your KING, but in Chessplode it can save your pieces. Remember, you can't capture some pieces because you could get check. Sometimes you will checkmate capturing a piece that explodes. And other you will be afraid of having several pieces in the same line or column...(POP!) -- FRIENDS (Who love chess) REVIEW -- They find Chessplode a great challenge and love how they need to change the old way of thinking even if they are winning... a bad move and they will run out of pieces. -- FRIENDS (Who *meh* chess) REVIEW -- Chess + Explosions... you got my attention. Some of these friends were casual chess players and others didn't really feel the attraction for chess. Both find Chessplode a really fun game. When they were playing regular chess they were not good, now they are the kings of the hill. -- FEATURES -- * FREE TO PLAY * Realtime chess battles multiplayer with people around the world. * In multiplayer you can send an emoji (to express your feelings) with every move you submit. Instant fun! * Play Levels created for other players, you can find really madness here, but you can undo your move... everyone can make a mistake. * Create your own custom Level and submit it to everyone can play it. Challenge the world! * Try local multiplayer battles with friends in the same device. Head to head! * Practice playing versus Ziri. * A lot of different color themes, play day and night with your favourite colors. Thank you for playing "Chessplode"! I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it ;) Support: Are you having problems? http://twitter.com/juaxma http://twitter.com/chessplode hello@juan.ma Privacy Policy: http://juan.ma/chessplode/privacypolicy/ AppPreview Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/jazzy-frenchy © Juan Manuel Altamirano Argudo / juan.ma
Ancient Board Game Collection
Explore a collection of historical board games from ancient civilizations. Play against AI, friends online, or locally on a single device. Offers accessibility features for visually impaired players.
- 9 unique ancient board games
- Online multiplayer against friends
- Local multiplayer on one device
- AI opponent for solo play
- VoiceOver and Voice Control support
- High contrast game boards
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Have you ever heard of Hnefatafl, a game played during the Viking Age? Or Latrunculi, popular over 2000 years ago in ancient Rome? Discover these games and many more in the "Ancient Board Game Collection". Features: - 9 different games: Konane, Hnefatafl, Nine Men's Morris, Dablot Prejjesne, Gomoku, Halatafl, Latrunculi, Five Field Kono and Bagh-Chal - Play online against your friends or compete with via Game Center - Local Multiplayer on a single device - Step up your game by playing against the AI - Fully Accessible via VoiceOver and Voice Control - High Contrast Game Boards for people with low vision Note: There are no Ads for anyone, but the game comes with In-App-Purchases. The free download allows you to play one online game at a time and lets you try out the local multiplayer and AI mode once. Unlimited online games and playing locally as often as you want can be bought as an In-App Purchase
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Ancient Board Game Collection at none against Chessplode's shown. Chessplode's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly) and ratings volume (573 vs 100). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. Chessplode sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Ancient Board Game Collection sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Chessplode against 4.5 for Ancient Board Game Collection. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chessplode has 573 ratings behind it against 100, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 61% of Chessplode's written reviews are positive against 53% of Ancient Board Game Collection's.
Chessplode ships an update every 2 weeks, Ancient Board Game Collection monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chessplode | Ancient Board Game Collection |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (573 ratings) — better | 4.5 (100 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 61.2% of reviews — better | 53.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 573 — better | 100 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 86 MB | 279 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Juan Manuel Altamirano Argudo | Klemens Strasser |
Customer experience
Chessplode
Ancient Board Game Collection
User reviews
Chessplode
From 573 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Quick gameplay
- 👍 Beautiful and fun game
- 👍 Fantastic and great fun twist on chess
- 👍 Lovely little game
- 👍 Chess with a new challenge
Room to improve
- 🐛 Won't open or get stuck
- 🐛 Issues with king movement and checkmate detection
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 AI issues with thinking and repeating moves
- 🐛 Overly difficult, even at easy levels
Ancient Board Game Collection
From 100 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Beautiful graphics and design
- 📚 Great collection of ancient games
- 💡 Well-explained rules
- 💰 Fair pricing for premium content
- ✨ Culturally respectful design
Room to improve
- 💸 Most features are paywalled
- ⏳ Long waiting times for online opponents
- 🤖 Weak AI opponents
- 🚫 Limited free trial/play
- 🤷 Online multiplayer issues
Bugs and requests
Chessplode
Reported bugs
4 issues- Won't open or get stuck on certain screens
- Issues with king movement and checkmate detection
- Crashes and freezes, especially when AI is thinking
- AI issues with thinking and repeating moves
Requested features
9 requests- Add local multiplayer mode
- Add classic chess mode
- Add more basic puzzles
- Add ability to go back to previous levels
- Add option to remove explosions
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- Add Repetition end-condition
- Add Resign button
- Add themed boards
- Add online levels and multiplayer
Ancient Board Game Collection
Reported bugs
14 issues- Gomoku AI lets you win easily
- Online games remain untouched by opponents
- No wins or forfeit notices for inactive opponents
- Online players are missing/inactive
- Opponents have two days to respond, leading to long waits
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- Matches start but opponents don't play their next move
- Giant picket sign dances around the board blocking view
- Online mode doesn't allow play after a turn
- Game crashes when surrendering
- Online multiplayer doesn't work
- Cannot find anyone online
- Opponent takes a very long time to move
- Paid version via Apple store not unlocking full game
- Free version limits play significantly
Requested features
25 requests- Add Renju rules for Gomoku
- Change board size
- Add more game variations
- Add Go and Japanese Chess
- Add more themes
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- Add an undo button
- Add an expert level for the computer
- Add more ancient board games from Africa, Middle East, East Asia, etc.
- Add missing difficulty levels in 'Train' mode
- Add 'Extra Hard' mode
- Add Bagh Chal to 'Train' mode
- Add Chinese Chess, Fanorona, Go, Mancala
- Add a full Go mode on the Gomoku board
- Option to keep head-to-head game statistics vs the computer
- Easier way to invite others to play within the app
- Add Senet to the game set
- Add Japanese Chess - Shogi
- Add a confirm button
- Add time limits for turns
- Add difficult modes for Gomoku and Hnefatafl
- Add Go game
- Add chess
- Add a timer for turns
- Option to cancel a game without a loss if opponent is inactive
- Add more complex training levels for all games
In-app purchases
Chessplode
- +100 Undos$0.99
- Generous Tip$0.99
- Massive Tip$1.99
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- INFINITE UNDOS$1.99
- Amazing Tip$2.99
Ancient Board Game Collection
- Royal$4.99
Questions
Is Chessplode free?
Is Ancient Board Game Collection free?
Which has better reviews, Chessplode or Ancient Board Game Collection?
Do Chessplode or Ancient Board Game Collection have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chessplode or Ancient Board Game Collection?
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