Puzzled vs Starchess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Puzzled
Enhance your chess tactics with over 8000 puzzles, from beginner to expert. Test your skills in timed Puzzle Rush or blindfold challenges. Track your progress and compete on the leaderboard.
- Rated chess puzzles
- Puzzle Rush mode
- Blindfold chess puzzles
- Progress tracking
- Leaderboard
- Unlimited puzzle access with Gold Membership
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* Rated Chess Puzzles * - Improve your tactics with rated chess puzzles. View the progress page and see how your stats have changed over time - Play over 8000 different puzzles. Puzzle difficulties range from beginner to expert, so there are puzzles for players of all abilities. * Puzzle Rush * - Put your skills to the test with Puzzle Rush, a game format where you have only minutes to solve as many puzzles as possible. * Blindfold Chess Puzzles * - Is regular chess too easy? Try solving a blindfold chess puzzle and really test your visualization skills. * Progress Tracking * - See how your rating has climbed over time on the progress page. - Review past puzzles you missed to improve your puzzle weaknesses * Leaderboard * - See how your scores compare to all users on the Leaderboard page * Gold Membership * - For a one time purchase of only 4.99, you can become a Gold Member and gain unlimited access to Rated Puzzles and Puzzle Rush. * Suggestions/Improvements * - Feel free to contact me at puzzledfeedback@gmail.com with any suggestions for improvement you have. If you like the app, please leave a review. Thanks.
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 Puzzled's 4.5. Starchess also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2). Puzzled's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (16 vs 1). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support 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. Puzzled sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Starchess asks for nothing beyond the download.
Starchess holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Puzzled has 16 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Puzzled ships an update every 3 weeks, Starchess every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and June 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Puzzled | Starchess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (16 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Liam Mccluskey | Nathan Lane |
Customer experience
Puzzled
Starchess
In-app purchases
Puzzled
- Silver Membership$1.99
- Gold Membership$4.99
Starchess
No in-app purchases
