Comparison

Chess Ultimate vs Glowhold

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Unique character roster
  • Team building
  • King defense strategy
  • Opponent downfall plotting
  • Fresh take on chess
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Glowhold

Read full description

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

Chess Ultimate4 screens
Glowhold4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Chess Ultimate versus Glowhold: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess UltimateGlowhold
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (126 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews62.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings126 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size695 MB34 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperJesse LugassyPawel 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
Show 9 more
  • 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
Show 5 more
  • 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

6 purchases

Chess Ultimate

One-time6
  • 1,000 Gems$1.99
  • 2,000 Gems$3.49
  • 3,000 Gems$4.99
Show 3 more
  • Battle Pass$7.99
  • 5,000 Gems$7.99
  • 10,000 Gems$12.99
1 purchases

Glowhold

One-time1
  • Glowhold Premium$2.99

Questions

Is Chess Ultimate free?
Chess Ultimate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Glowhold free?
Glowhold is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Chess Ultimate or Glowhold have ads?
Glowhold shows ads; Chess Ultimate does not.

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