Comparison

Shredder Chess vs Explosive Chess

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

Head to head
About

Shredder Chess

Engage in chess matches against a world champion AI, analyze your games, and solve numerous chess puzzles. This app offers adjustable difficulty and human-like play, helping you improve your skills anytime, anywhere.

Highlights
  • Play against adjustable AI strength
  • Analyze games and identify mistakes
  • Solve 1000 built-in chess puzzles
  • Mimics human playing styles
  • Automatic strength adjustment
  • In-game coach for mistakes
Features
Read full description

Play better chess with Shredder Chess - the classic chess opponent, trainer and analysis partner for iPhone. Shredder gives you a chess opponent that adapts to your level, from casual beginner to strong club player. Play a quick game, solve tactics, get warned before mistakes and analyze your games to understand where you can improve. Whether you want to learn chess, sharpen your tactics or simply enjoy a good game, Shredder helps you make every move count. Why chess players choose Shredder: • Adaptive playing strength from beginner to master level • Optional auto-adjusting opponent that matches your play • Built-in coach that warns you before mistakes • 1,000 chess puzzles for tactics training • Game analysis to find mistakes and improve your play • Estimated Elo rating with progress diagram • Human-like playing styles, from passive to aggressive • Opening book with more than one million moves • Set up and analyze any position • Save games, share them by email and review later • Multiple boards and pieces • VoiceOver and accessibility support The Shredder chess programs have won 19 World Computer Chess Champion titles, making Shredder one of the most successful names in computer chess. Play a game. Solve a puzzle. Analyze your moves. Get stronger with Shredder Chess.

About

Explosive Chess

Features
Read full description

Explosive Chess is a turn-based strategy game that combines chess movement with tactical, timed bomb explosions. Move your pieces like chess — but the only way to destroy anything is with bombs. Every turn you choose: move a piece, or arm a bomb. Bombs detonate on a fuse, blast in patterns determined by the piece that armed them, and friendly fire is real. Your own King can be destroyed by your own bomb. HOW TO PLAY Select a piece and move it — or switch to Arm mode and place a bomb on any square it threatens. Every piece has a unique blast shape. Rooks blast in a cross. Knights blast in an L-pattern that ignores everything in between. Pawns blast diagonally forward. The only way to win is to destroy the enemy King. FEATURES · Single-player vs AI with three difficulty levels — Easy, Medium, and Hard · Pass & Play multiplayer on one device · Three power-ups hidden in destructible rubble: Extra Bomb, Fuse Control, and Shield · Randomized board layouts every game — no two games play the same · No ads. No subscriptions. No in-app purchases. Buy it once, own it forever.

Screenshots

Shredder Chess4 screens
Explosive Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Explosive Chess at every 2 days against Shredder Chess's every 7 months. Explosive Chess also leads on price ($2.99 vs $8.99). Shredder Chess's advantage is chart position (#46 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, 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

Shredder Chess costs $8.99 and Explosive Chess $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shredder Chess ships an update every 7 months, Explosive Chess every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Shredder Chess versus Explosive Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShredder ChessExplosive Chess
Price$8.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.3 (97 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews82.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings97 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#46 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.016.0
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEiko Bleicher, Skizzix.comJason Fawley

Bugs and requests

Shredder Chess

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when loading new games
  • Incorrect move evaluation and scoring
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add online/multiplayer functionality
  • Expand game database and opening library
  • Improve interface for larger screens
  • Provide more detailed analysis and coaching

Explosive Chess

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Shredder Chess

No in-app purchases

None

Explosive Chess

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shredder Chess free?
Shredder Chess costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Explosive Chess free?
Explosive Chess costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Shredder Chess or Explosive Chess have ads?
Neither Shredder Chess nor Explosive Chess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shredder Chess or Explosive Chess?
Shredder Chess ships an update every 7 months, and Explosive Chess every 2 days. Most recently, Shredder Chess was updated on October 17, 2026 and Explosive Chess on October 9, 2026.

Other comparisons