Chess puzzles! vs Noctie Chess Trainer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess puzzles!
Engage in mind-teasing chess challenges designed for all skill levels, from beginners to seasoned players. Test your strategic thinking with various puzzle difficulties and enjoy a fun variation of the classic board game.
- Tutorial levels for beginners
- Simple tap and drag controls
- Mate in 1 challenges
- Mate in 2 challenges
- Alternate chess challenges
- Categorized difficulty levels
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Do you love chess & puzzle challenges? Well, you’ll love Chess Puzzles! This fun variation of the chess game includes mind-teasing challenges categorized in levels that are sure to test your chess skills and problem-solving thinking. Can you pass all levels? Great for anyone! From beginner to seasoned chess player! WHY YOU’LL LOVE CHESS PUZZLES! - Tutorial levels included (great for beginners) - Simple tap & dragging controls - Mate in 1, mate in 2 challenges and some alternate challenges - Cool variation of the classic board game Now, it’s chess puzzle time! Download the app for free!
Noctie Chess Trainer
This app offers a unique chess training experience by simulating human opponents who adapt to your skill level. It provides instant feedback, custom puzzles from your games, and tools to master openings and endgames. Designed for serious improvement, it focuses on deliberate practice without distractions.
- Human-like AI opponents
- Adaptive difficulty levels
- Opening repertoire training
- Instant move feedback
- Puzzles from your games
- Position builder
- Endgame lessons
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Most chess apps make you play a machine. Noctie gives you a training partner. Noctie is a premium chess trainer that plays like a human, adapts to your level, and turns every game into focused practice. Play the opening you like, get puzzles from your game, have fun. No weird engine moves, just real games against a realistic opponent, with instant feedback that shows you how to improve on every move. TRAIN AGAINST HUMAN-LIKE AI OPPONENTS Train against a chess AI that adapts to your level and makes natural, human mistakes instead of perfect computer moves. Improve through 25 difficulty levels of humanlike chess bots, from beginner to master. MASTER YOUR OPENINGS THE RIGHT WAY Choose among your favorite chess openings or import your own repertoire, and train against an AI that follows the lines humans actually play. You don't just memorize theory; you learn to play it. GET INSTANT VISUAL FEEDBACK WHILE YOU PLAY See color-coded move-quality feedback the moment you play. Spot tactical mistakes and brilliant moves in real time, so every game teaches you something. SOLVE PUZZLES FROM YOUR ACTUAL GAMES After each game, practice custom chess tactics from the exact positions where you struggled. Your puzzles are saved for spaced-repetition practice, so you never repeat the same mistake twice. SET UP ANY POSITION, STUDY LESSONS & ENDGAMES Use the position builder to set up any chess position, or play scenarios from our instructive lessons — covering everything from positional imbalances to theoretical endgames. Drill king-and-pawn endgames until they're second nature. BUILT FOR PLAYERS SERIOUS ABOUT IMPROVING Noctie is a focused, premium chess training tool — no ads, no distractions, just deliberate practice that turns into real rating gains. Start with a free trial and train like you mean it. ** Requires internet connection ** SUBSCRIPTION Noctie is an auto-renewing subscription that starts with a free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase, and renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of use: https://apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://noctie.ai/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Chess puzzles! at free with in-app purchases against Noctie Chess Trainer's subscription. Chess puzzles! also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). Noctie Chess Trainer's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Chess puzzles! sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Noctie Chess Trainer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $13.90 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Chess puzzles! against 4.7 for Noctie Chess Trainer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.3K and 639 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Chess puzzles!'s written reviews are positive against 74% of Noctie Chess Trainer's.
Chess puzzles! ships an update every 6 weeks, Noctie Chess Trainer every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess puzzles! | Noctie Chess Trainer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.3K ratings) — better | 4.7 (639 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 78.0% of reviews — better | 74.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.3K — better | 639 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Erik Brandsma | Noctie AB |
Customer experience
Chess puzzles!
Noctie Chess Trainer
User reviews
Chess puzzles!
From 1.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Challenging and engaging puzzles
- 👍 No ads or in-app purchases
- 👍 Helpful for improving chess skills
- 👍 Fun and enjoyable experience
- 👍 Realistic and creative puzzles
Room to improve
- 🐛 Some puzzles have no solution or are buggy
- 🔍 Lack of explanations or feedback on wrong moves
- 🔍 Repetitive puzzle types (e.g., queen sacrifices)
- 🔍 Inefficient navigation between puzzles
Noctie Chess Trainer
From 639 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great for learning chess
- 💡 Realistic time management simulation
- 🚀 Improves chess skills quickly
- 💡 Human-like play style
- 💡 Flashcard system for mistakes
Room to improve
- 👎 Blunders mislabeled
- 👎 Subscription required for themes
- 👎 Limited free content
- 👎 Puzzles are basic
- 👎 AI doesn't coach
Bugs and requests
Chess puzzles!
Reported bugs
2 issues- Puzzle with no solution ("Mate in 3 - Queen pack - AAAAAAAY-OH")
- Puzzle solution not recognized ("you have one move only ;)")
Requested features
4 requests- Reset puzzle option
- Next puzzle button
- Ability to make wrong moves in puzzles
- Puzzle solution hints or explanations
Noctie Chess Trainer
Reported bugs
6 issues- Lost opening library and progress after update
- User flow to rebuild opening library is terrible
- Material difference calculation breaks with promoted queens
- Layout cuts off chessboard in portrait mode on iPad
- AI doesn't adjust strength based on user rating
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- Hints and feedback can be inaccurate
Requested features
11 requests- Lifetime tier option
- Realistic time management for bots
- Dark mode
- Choice of colors and chessboards
- Import games from Lichess/Chess.com for flashcards
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- More moves in opening hints
- Ability to play specific opening branches on mobile
- Detailed computer analysis in game reviews
- Guided demo for new users
- Option to open PGN on Lichess from review page
- Export PGN after game
In-app purchases
Chess puzzles!
- Fun pack!$0.99
- Human vs machine$0.99
- Funky moves$1.99
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- Remove all ads$1.99
Noctie Chess Trainer
- Club Noctie7 Days trial$13.901 Month
- Club Noctie Yearly7 Days trial$99.991 Year
Questions
Is Chess puzzles! free?
Is Noctie Chess Trainer free?
Which has better reviews, Chess puzzles! or Noctie Chess Trainer?
Do Chess puzzles! or Noctie Chess Trainer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess puzzles! or Noctie Chess Trainer?
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