Chess Ultimate vs Exploding Kittens® 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess Ultimate
A strategic board game that reimagines classic chess with unique characters and abilities. Build a team to defend your king and outwit opponents in this fresh take on a game of wits. It offers an engaging experience for both new and experienced players.
- Unique character roster
- Strategic team building
- Fresh take on classic chess
- Colorful and engaging graphics
- Offline play support
- Fast matchmaking
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Chess just got an upgrade! Chess Ultimate, where precision strategy meets colorful chaos. Build your team from a roster of unique, quirky characters to defend your King while plotting your opponent’s downfall. Easy to pick up, endlessly fun to master, and a fresh take on the classic game of wits.
Exploding Kittens® 2
Experience the chaotic fun of a popular card game with friends. This digital version features customizable avatars, animated cards, and new ways to play, including the highly requested "Nope" card. Engage in quick rounds of strategy and luck to be the last player standing.
- Customizable avatars
- Emoji reactions
- Multiple game modes
- Animated cards
- Online multiplayer
- AI opponent
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The ultimate card game with friends is back with a bang, people! EXPLODING KITTENS® 2 has it all – customisable avatars, emojis, oodles of game modes and cards full of quirky humour and animations sleeker than an oiled kitty with catnip-fuelled zoomies! Plus, the official EXPLODING KITTENS® 2 game brings the most-requested mechanic of all…the Nope card! Stuff a glorious Nope Sandwich right into the horrified faces of your friends – with extra Nopesauce, of course. HOW TO PLAY EXPLODING KITTENS® 2 1. Download the EXPLODING KITTENS® 2 online game. 2. Optional: Get your friends to download it too. 3. Each player plays as many cards as they like on their turn OR passes! 4. The player then draws a card to end their turn. If it’s an EXPLODING KITTEN, they’re out (unless they have a handy Defuse card). 5. Keep going until only one player is left standing! FEATURES - CUSTOMISE YOUR AVATARS – Dress your avatar up in the season’s hottest outfits (cat hair not included) - REACT TO GAMEPLAY – Personalise your emoji sets to ensure your trash talk has a razor-sharp edge. - MULTIPLE GAME MODES – Play alone against our expert AI or impress your mum with your sparkling social life by playing with friends online! - ANIMATED CARDS – The mayhem comes to life with awesome animations! Those Nope cards just hit different now… Steady yourself, think of calming waves and draw a card!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chess Ultimate at Free against Exploding Kittens® 2's $4.99. Chess Ultimate also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Exploding Kittens® 2's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (4K vs 128). On review sentiment, 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
Chess Ultimate is free to download; Exploding Kittens® 2 costs $4.99 up front. Chess Ultimate sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Exploding Kittens® 2 sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Exploding Kittens® 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Exploding Kittens® 2 has 4K ratings behind it against 128, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of Chess Ultimate's written reviews are positive against 59% of Exploding Kittens® 2's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Chess Ultimate ships an update every 4 days, Exploding Kittens® 2 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess Ultimate | Exploding Kittens® 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.1 (128 ratings) | 4.8 (4K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 62.7% of reviews — better | 59.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 128 | 4K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #10 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 695 MB | 446 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Jesse Lugassy | Marmalade Game Studio Limited |
Customer experience
Chess Ultimate
Exploding Kittens® 2
User reviews
Chess Ultimate
From 128 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💡 Fun twist on classic chess
- 👍 Great concept and potential
- 🤩 Amazing graphics and art
- 🚀 Very fun to play
- 👍 No ads and offline play
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent bugs and glitches
- 😞 Login/sign-in issues
- ⏳ Long matchmaking times
- ⚖️ Unbalanced gameplay
- 📉 Some pieces are lackluster
Exploding Kittens® 2
From 4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast-paced gameplay
- 👍 Charming animations and visuals
- 🤩 Engaging and fun experience
- 🎨 Customizable skins and backgrounds
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- ⏱️ Slow animations and gameplay
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 🤖 Unresponsive AI opponents
Bugs and requests
Chess Ultimate
Reported bugs
14 issues- App flashing and becoming unplayable after closing without shutting down
- Game refuses to connect to the internet
- No matches available
- Does not indicate when king is in check
- Login issues with Apple accounts
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- Soft locked in login screen
- Game freezes during signup
- Cannot sign in/stay signed in
- Crashes phone requiring reset
- Game crashes when playing offline against CPU
- Disconnected internet error after bot matches, not receiving keys
- Blob glitch where checkmate is not shown and game does not end
- Account sign in button not working
- Pitch black game screen
Requested features
10 requests- Fischer Random mode
- Spells or building mechanics
- Health bars and better motion for turtle piece
- Improved copy cat spawning mechanic
- Stronger giant piece
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- Skins for original chess pieces
- Local 1v1 single device play
- Larger board size
- Increase cap to 150
- More new characters
Exploding Kittens® 2
Reported bugs
4 issues- Nope card not functioning properly
- Leaderboard not updating correctly
- Inability to leave a game after losing
- Forced account creation for online play
Requested features
4 requests- Add a turn timer to prevent stalling
- Allow custom deck creation and configuration
- Improve online multiplayer stability and matchmaking
- Bring back the original game's sound effects and personality
In-app purchases
Chess Ultimate
- 1,000 Gems$1.99
- 2,000 Gems$3.49
- 3,000 Gems$4.99
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- Battle Pass$7.99
- 5,000 Gems$7.99
- 10,000 Gems$12.99
Exploding Kittens® 2
- Mystic Mayhem Card Back$0.99
- MysticMayhem Cauldron Creature$1.99
- Sea Rat Outfit$1.99
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- Slice of Heaven Outfit$1.99
- Santa Claws Pack$4.99
- Mystic Mayhem Pack$5.99
- Beach Day Pack$5.99
- Kitchen Chaos Pack$5.99
- Sun and Spice Bundle$7.99
- Explosive Expansions Pass$9.99
Questions
Is Chess Ultimate free?
Is Exploding Kittens® 2 free?
Which has better reviews, Chess Ultimate or Exploding Kittens® 2?
Do Chess Ultimate or Exploding Kittens® 2 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess Ultimate or Exploding Kittens® 2?
Other comparisons
