Chess vs Mini Chess 5x5
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess
This app offers a high-quality chess experience for players of all levels, from beginners to professionals. It features a strong engine, analysis tools, and learning resources to improve your game.
- Simulated human opponents for beginners
- Top-tier chess engine for experts
- Real-time game analysis
- 1 or 2-player game support
- Opening Library and PGN Database
- Position Editor
- Rated games and progress tracking
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tChess Pro is the high-quality, critically acclaimed chess game with the richest features for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It's perfect for every player: Beginners: Not everybody is a chess master! Most chess games are too strong or just make random mistakes at easier levels. tChess Pro has unique algorithms to simulate human opponents. Experts: tChess Pro has a top-tier chess engine. (Over 380 ELO points stronger than Caissa Chess.) Enthusiasts: tChess Pro's Analysis Mode is like having a chess master in your pocket. You can get the engine's "expert opinion" about any game or position in real-time: which side is winning, and the best sequence of moves. Just like a professional desktop chess package. More key features: - Perfect for 1- or 2-player games - Strong computer opponent - Play against any ELO rating from 500 to 2500 - Integrated "Learn Chess" e-book app (Apple Staff Favorite!) - Opening Library feature lets you explore chess opening theory as you play - PGN Database feature lets you download and view PGN files - Support for 3-stage time controls with Fischer increments - Position Editor to enter positions from books, newspapers, etc. - Save and load games; export them in standard PGN format - Use the Profile feature to play rated games against the computer and track your progress tChess Pro is developed by Tom Kerrigan, author of the TSCP and Stobor chess engines.
Mini Chess 5x5
Experience a unique chess variant on a 5x5 board. Play against AI with adjustable difficulty or use it as a physical board for two players. Enjoy a streamlined chess experience with simplified rules.
- 5x5 chess board variant
- Play against computer AI
- Multiple AI difficulty levels
- Two-player mode
- Simplified chess rules
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A chess variant on 5×5 board, the simplified version of the classic chess. You can play against the computer (several levels of difficulty) or use the app as a chess board when playing with a partner. Exceptions from the standard chess rules: the pawn double-move and castling are not allowed.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Chess at 89% against Mini Chess 5x5's 43%. Chess also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Mini Chess 5x5's advantage is price (Free vs $7.99) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On ads 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
Mini Chess 5x5 is free to download; Chess costs $7.99 up front. Mini Chess 5x5 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chess asks for nothing beyond the download.
Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 251 and 79 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 43% of Mini Chess 5x5's.
Chess ships an update every 4 months, Mini Chess 5x5 every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess | Mini Chess 5x5 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (251 ratings) — better | 3.5 (79 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 88.6% of reviews — better | 43.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 251 — better | 79 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 12 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tom Kerrigan | Golmium |
Customer experience
Chess
Mini Chess 5x5
Bugs and requests
Chess
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes when creating annotations
- Zoomed-in screen issue when returning to the app
- Difficulty settings not accurately reflecting the AI's strength
Requested features
6 requests- Add chess puzzles
- Provide more board and piece style options
- Implement a resign feature and draw offer
- Add a move evaluation bar
- Improve the online multiplayer experience
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- Provide a way to organize and navigate through game databases
Mini Chess 5x5
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chess
No in-app purchases
Mini Chess 5x5
- Mini Chess 5x5 full version$0.99









