Comparison

Luminosus vs Almost Chess

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

Head to head
About

Luminosus

A unique puzzle game blending Tetris-style gameplay with color-matching mechanics. Plan your moves ahead to create white blocks for higher scores. Offers classic and marathon modes, leaderboards, and achievements for endless fun.

Highlights
  • Color-matching puzzle mechanics
  • Strategic planning ahead
  • Classic and Marathon modes
  • Global leaderboards
  • Achievements
  • Controller support
  • Color blind and night modes
Features
Read full description

**Editors pick for “New games we love” in 135+ countries** **Editors pick for “New and noteworthy games” in 150+ countries** **Editors pick for “What we are playing this week”** **Editors choice "Indie corner"** Luminosus is a unique and challenging puzzle game that combines the fun of matching colors on a Tetris-esque board. Puzzle pieces can be changed back and forth as many times as you want, so a red block will change a yellow piece orange but another red piece will change it back to red. If a piece is influenced by all three colors it is turned white and scores significantly more when cleared. In this way the game requires planning more steps ahead than your standard piece-dropping puzzle game. With its simple but addictive gameplay, Luminosus offers hours of entertainment and a twist on the classic Tetris and Puyo experience. Features: • Classic mode for a relaxing experience • Marathon game mode for the ultimate challenge • Compete against the world on the leaderboard • Achievements • Controller support • Color blind and night modes • Unique and challenging gameplay that combines Tetris with color matching

About

Almost Chess

Experience chess with a randomized board layout, offering a fresh tactical challenge for all skill levels. Adapt to new puzzles daily and test your strategic thinking in this unpredictable version of the classic game.

Highlights
  • Randomized board layouts
  • Single player AI challenges
  • Two player local mode
  • Daily puzzling positions
  • Valid move highlighting
  • ELO rating system
Features
Read full description

ALMOST CHESS It's chess... but not quite as you remember it. Every game starts with a completely randomized board layout (except the kings, they're not completely lost). Whether you're a grandmaster or a beginner, everyone starts with the same advantage: pure confusion! Features: • Single Player: Challenge our AI that's learning to adapt just like you • Two Player: Share the chaos with a friend • Daily Challenge: A new puzzling position every day for everyone worldwide • Valid Move Highlights: We're not completely heartless • ELO Rating System: Climb the ranks in this bizarre version of chess Perfect for: • Chess players looking for a fresh challenge • Casual gamers who want the strategy without the memorization • Anyone who's ever thought "regular chess is too predictable" No opening theory. No memorized patterns. Just pure tactical thinking and adaptability. Can you master Almost Chess? Free to play. In single-player games, you can optionally watch a rewarded ad to earn an extra undo. The Remove Ads purchase unlocks unlimited undos and hides rewarded-ad prompts. Download now and discover how good you are at chess when nobody knows what they're doing!

Screenshots

Luminosus4 screens
Almost Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Almost Chess at Free against Luminosus's $0.29. Luminosus's advantage is review sentiment (71% vs 33%) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Almost Chess is free to download; Luminosus costs $0.29 up front. Almost Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Luminosus asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Luminosus ships an update fortnightly, Almost Chess monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Luminosus versus Almost Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLuminosusAlmost Chess
Price$0.29Free — better
Rating4.9 (17 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size114 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShort Circuit Studiohourafter

Customer experience

Luminosus

All ratings17 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%

Almost Chess

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

In-app purchases

None

Luminosus

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Almost Chess

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is Luminosus free?
Luminosus costs $0.29, with no in-app purchases.
Is Almost Chess free?
Almost Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Luminosus or Almost Chess have ads?
Neither Luminosus nor Almost Chess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Luminosus or Almost Chess?
Luminosus ships an update fortnightly, and Almost Chess monthly. Most recently, Luminosus was updated on October 11, 2026 and Almost Chess on October 1, 2026.

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