Chess vs 3D Chess Game
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess
Enjoy a classic chess experience on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. This app offers a clean interface, beautiful graphics, and intuitive gameplay perfect for casual players. Play against a computer opponent, review game history, and track your progress.
- 1- or 2-player games on one device
- Tap-to-move piece selection
- Highlights legal moves
- Full game history and move list
- Built-in chess clock
- Get hint feature
- Undo moves
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tChess Lite is the popular chess game designed just for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. tChess is like a virtual chess board on your device. It's fun and easy to use--perfect for the casual player! This game features a very clean UI design and beautiful graphics. tChess is a fast and stable program. Pick up a game in your free time... and there's no problem listening to your music while you play. (tChess Lite is a fully-functional version of tChess for casual chess players. If you're an active player and want enthusiast-level features, take a look at tChess Pro, which is over 1000 ELO stronger and has received rave reviews from Grandmaster Susan Polgar, PE's Chess Cast, and iPhone app critics.) tChess Lite Features: - Perfect for 1- or 2-player games (on the same device, no network connection required) - Tap-tap to move pieces - Highlights legal moves - View full game history in the Move List - Go back or forward move by move and replay completed games - Built-in chess clock - "Get hint" feature to improve your game - Easy to undo moves - Saves your game automatically if you exit the program or take a call - Play against any ELO rating from 500 to 1200 - Computer opponent is the most fun and realistic for beginners and casual players - Use the Profile feature to play rated games and track your progress - Over 15,000 openings for fresh, varied games tChess Lite is developed by Tom Kerrigan, author of the TSCP and Stobor chess engines.
3D Chess Game
Experience chess in a realistic 3D environment with customizable boards and sets. Challenge yourself with 25 difficulty levels, analyze games move-by-move, and track your progress with detailed statistics. Perfect for both beginners and experienced players.
- Realistic 3D graphics and animations
- 25 adjustable AI difficulty levels
- Customizable chess sets and boards
- Game analysis and editing
- Detailed player statistics
- Tournament mode
- Position editor
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Play Chess against the computer, in 3D! It feels like playing on a real chessboard and supports human vs computer, computer vs computer, human vs human. - 25 different levels carefully tweaked to challenge you gradually while you progress - Or just pit different A.I. levels against each other and watch! - Realistic 3D models, animations and sound effects - Customizable chess set and chessboard colors (including metal effect!), with 12 presets - Examine any game back and forth, move by move! Edit, resume etc. - Timed and untimed modes with no-penalty undo/redo option - Track your progress from every angle with detailed statistics - Tournament mode with untimed matches against simulated opponents that are calibrated to your skills, are always available, move immediately and never cheat! - Ability to manually edit and play any position, including unusual ones like all knight pieces, multiple kings, no kings etc! - Option to hide valid moves markers, last move trail markers and thinking A.I. markers - Never played Chess before? Quick start tutorial included! - No in-app purchases, not a demo, no locked options!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: 3D Chess Game at Free against Chess's $0.99. 3D Chess Game also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (3.5K vs 77). Chess's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#177 vs unranked). On rating, 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
3D Chess Game is free to download; Chess costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Chess against 4.6 for 3D Chess Game. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 3D Chess Game has 3.5K ratings behind it against 77, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 76% of 3D Chess Game's.
Chess ships an update every 5 months, 3D Chess Game every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess | 3D Chess Game |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (77 ratings) | 4.6 (3.5K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.1% of reviews — better | 76.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 77 | 3.5K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Best chart rank | #177 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Tom Kerrigan | A Trillion Games Ltd |
Customer experience
Chess
3D Chess Game
User reviews
Chess
From 77 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great app
- 🚀 Smooth gameplay
- 💡 Helpful hints and features
- 🎨 Excellent graphics and visuals
- 🧠 Challenging AI opponent
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🔍 Limited difficulty levels
- 🤖 AI can be predictable at times
- 💤 Lack of online/multiplayer options
3D Chess Game
From 3.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent graphics
- 👍 Customizable settings
- 🎮 Great for learning and improving chess skills
- 🎨 Ability to change piece and board colors
- ⏱️ Challenging AI at higher levels
Room to improve
- 🐛 AI makes illegal moves at times
- 🔍 Obtrusive in-game menus
- 📺 Intrusive ads
- 🔒 Concerns about data sharing
- 🕹️ Unresponsive controls and buttons
Bugs and requests
Chess
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inconsistent pawn movement rules
- Stalemate issues and computer refusing to resign
- Connectivity problems with Game Center
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to set up custom board positions
- More difficulty levels and ELO ratings
- Online/multiplayer functionality
- Notification options for opponent moves
- Chess puzzle/training mode
3D Chess Game
Reported bugs
4 issues- AI makes multiple moves in a single turn
- Game incorrectly declares checkmate or draw
- Crashes and resets after certain actions
- Piece movement issues and inability to make valid moves
Requested features
5 requests- Add online multiplayer mode
- Implement move history and game analysis
- Allow pawn promotion to other pieces
- Improve castling functionality
- Add background music option
In-app purchases
Chess
No in-app purchases
3D Chess Game
No in-app purchases








