Chess Ultimate vs Glowhold
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess Ultimate
Engage in a strategic battle where classic chess meets a roster of unique characters. Build a team to defend your King and outwit your opponent in this fresh take on a timeless game. It's easy to learn but offers deep mastery.
- Unique character roster
- Team building
- King defense strategy
- Opponent downfall plotting
- Fresh take on chess
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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.
Glowhold
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A peaceful village by day. Eyes in the darkness by night. Take hold of the light and help your villagers reach dawn. Glowhold is a village-defence strategy game made for one-finger controls. Drag to guide your beam, repel enemies and herd them towards torches and towers. Lift your finger to replenish oil. When danger closes in, spend oil on a brilliant flare. BUILD YOUR HAVEN Repair walls and improve buildings between nights. Each in-game day gives you one building action, so choose what your village needs most. Zoom in and tap a building to learn what it does. Villagers bring the valley to life with little speech bubbles. MEET THE CREATURES OF THE DARK Different enemies call for different tactics. Five bosses have their own abilities, with tougher encounters as you progress. Your first boss arrives on night 10, followed by a boss every 5 nights. An in-game guide and bestiary help you prepare. COME BACK TO YOUR VILLAGE Gather sparks while you are away. Starting on night 4, a daily quest gives you another challenge: a new one arrives once per calendar day, at local midnight. Open the quest panel for its full description and the next refresh time. Losing a night does not erase your village. PLAY YOUR WAY • Short nights, touch controls and a storybook landscape. • Polish and English, on iPhone and iPad. • Core gameplay works offline with no account. • Local saves with manual village-code export and import. • No energy system and no subscriptions. Optional rewarded ads require internet and depend on availability. One permanent Glowhold Premium purchase lets you claim eligible bonuses without watching ads, and adds a daily streak shield, an ember beam colour and decorative statue plinths. Reward conditions and limits still apply. The core game remains available without a purchase. Support: https://sowerit.github.io/glowhold-support/en.html Privacy: https://sowerit.github.io/glowhold-support/privacy.html#english
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Chess Ultimate at none against Glowhold's shown. Chess Ultimate also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, in-app purchases 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. Chess Ultimate sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Glowhold sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | Chess Ultimate | Glowhold |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (126 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 62.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 126 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | — |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 695 MB | 34 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Jesse Lugassy | Pawel Smoczynski |
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
Glowhold
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
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
Glowhold
- Glowhold Premium$2.99









