Comparison

Reconnaissance Blind Chess vs NIT AP

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

Head to head
About

Reconnaissance Blind Chess

This app offers a unique chess variant where players cannot see their opponent's pieces. Utilize private sensing actions to gather information and strategize your moves. Compete in ranked or unranked games against AI bots.

Highlights
  • Imperfect information gameplay
  • Private sensing actions
  • Ranked and unranked game modes
  • AI bot opponents
  • Capture-based win condition
  • Time-based win condition
Features
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The Reconnaissance Blind Chess (RBC) variant was invented in 2015 at JHU/APL as an experimentation platform to study artificial intelligence (AI). RBC includes imperfect information, long-term strategy, explicit observations, and very little common knowledge between opponents. In the RBC variant, the opponents cannot see each other’s pieces but can learn about them through private, explicit sensing actions. In unranked RBC games, the player plays with a guest account. They choose their opponent from a list of available bots and select their color (white or black). An unranked RBC game will not affect the player's rating. In ranked RBC games, the player logs in with their RBC account credentials, and their opponent and color are chosen at random. It may take a few seconds to be matched up against an opponent. A ranked RBC game will affect the player's rating. Game Rules: Reconnaissance Blind Chess (RBC) was intentionally designed to keep the game as close to traditional chess as possible while adding an appropriate amount of uncertainty and explicit sensing. RBC is like chess but includes the following core differences: A player cannot see their opponent's pieces. Prior to making each move, a player selects a 3×3 region of the chess board (via green outline on the relevant squares) to “sense” the pieces in that region. The player is informed of the true piece configuration within the sensed 3×3 region. The opponent is not informed about where the player sensed. When a player captures a piece, they are informed (via red outline on the relevant square) that they made a capture, but they are not informed about what piece they captured. When a player's piece is captured, they are informed (via red outline on the relevant square) that their piece was captured, but they are not informed about what piece captured it. There is no notion of check or mate because neither player can be definitively aware of any check relationship. A player wins by capturing the opponent's king or when the opponent runs out of time. Each player begins with a cumulative 15-minute clock to make all their moves. If a player tries to move a sliding piece through an opponent's piece, the opponent's piece is captured and the moved piece is stopped where the capture occurred. The moving player is notified of the square where the piece landed (via red outline on the relevant square), and both players are notified of the capture in the manner stated above. If a player attempts to make an illegal move, such as a pawn diagonally to an empty square, or a pawn forward to an occupied square, or a castle through an interposing piece, they are notified that the move did not succeed and their turn is over. However, castling through check is allowed because the notion of check is removed. There is a "pass" option that a player can select if they prefer to make no move during their turn. A player has access to reserve pieces that they can drag on and off the board to better visualize the state of the board, based on their belief of where their opponent's pieces are located. The turn tracker informs the player when it is their turn to sense and move, and when it is the opponent's turn.

About

NIT AP

Features
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Introducing NIT AP: Mess App exclusively for the students It's designed to make your day-to-day life simple and easy, with features for Menu View according to particular day and time, Organized Index, Canteen Info, Regular Updates. Students will be able to access information on modified mess menu Integrated with Different Mess Menu's. ( Girls & Boys ) Integrated Canteen Info - Dishes & Other items Download now and get started #StayOrganized Actively Maintained by Chaitanya Pullagura

Screenshots

Reconnaissance Blind Chess4 screens
NIT AP4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: NIT AP at weekly against Reconnaissance Blind Chess's every 32 months. On price, ads, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Reconnaissance Blind Chess ships an update every 32 months, NIT AP weekly. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Reconnaissance Blind Chess versus NIT AP: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReconnaissance Blind ChessNIT AP
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 32 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB56 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics LaboratoryCALLVCAL TECHNOLOGY PRIVATE LIMITED

In-app purchases

None

Reconnaissance Blind Chess

No in-app purchases

None

NIT AP

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Reconnaissance Blind Chess free?
Reconnaissance Blind Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NIT AP free?
NIT AP is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Reconnaissance Blind Chess or NIT AP have ads?
Neither Reconnaissance Blind Chess nor NIT AP shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Reconnaissance Blind Chess or NIT AP?
Reconnaissance Blind Chess ships an update every 32 months, and NIT AP weekly. Most recently, Reconnaissance Blind Chess was updated on November 3, 2026 and NIT AP on November 3, 2026.

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