Comparison

Chess ∙ vs Chess Remix

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

Head to head
About

Chess ∙

Experience a visually appealing and engaging chess game on your iPhone and iPod Touch. Play against friends or a customizable AI opponent with features like undo and automatic saving. Enjoy a free, ad-supported experience.

Highlights
  • 1 and 2 player gameplay
  • Challenging computer opponent
  • Great graphics and sound
  • Configurable difficulty
  • Undo function
  • Automatic save
Features
Read full description

Are you tired of playing chess games that look like they were designed for a Commodore 64 instead of an iPhone? We've got the antidote for you. Chess Free is the best chess game for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and it's free! Chess Free supports both 1 player and 2 player gameplay, so you can play against friends or test your skills against a challenging computer opponent. Chess Free offers a host of exciting features, including: * Great graphics and exciting sound effects * Configurable player names and score tracking * Outstanding AI engine with configurable difficulty level * Board rotation for two player games * Undo function * Automatic save when you get a phone call or exit the application Chess Free is supported by unobtrusive banner advertising. Chess Premium is the same great app without the ads.

About

Chess Remix

Explore diverse chess variants and abstract board games from around the world. Create and share your own unique game rules, or challenge others online. Learn new strategies with guided levels and AI opponents.

Highlights
  • Online competitive play
  • Create custom board games
  • Learn with guided levels
  • Play against AI
  • Discover community creations
  • Play global chess variants
Features
Read full description

A new way to play the world's oldest game Love chess but tired of memorising openings? Our competitive online play is focused on thinking fast not learning patterns. Challenge yourself to overcome opponents in a randomly selected Chess Remix. The games all use the standard chess pieces with alternate rules. Can you think quickly and find new ways to win? The whole world's Chess in one place Chess Remix contains Chess games from around the world. You can try Shogi (Japanese Chess), Xiangqui (Chinese Chess), Janggi (Korean Chess), Makruk (Thai Chess) and more. These games have all been styled to look like the Chess you are used to, making it easier to learn for beginners. A journey through the history of Chess Travel back to where it all began, 6th century India, and try Chaturanga, the original Chess. See the games it developed into as it spread across the globe. Play Courier Chess like a 12th century European or test your skills at Tamerlane Chess. Delve into ancient Shogi and experience the progression through different eras of Japanese history. Enjoy a marathon game of the massive Dai Shogi or a quick game of Mini-Shogi. You can even play Hnefatafl, the Chess of the Vikings. Chess 2.0 Chess Remix lets you change the rules and make your own game. Will you invent the next Chess? It's your game play by your rules. You could win by losing the game, start in random places or just have En Passant be a forced move. Don't like casting? You can turn it off. Want a Rook that also moves like a Knight? You got it. There are limitless possibilities (okay technically there is a limit, but there are so many options you could never play all of them). Not just Chess We have so many options to customise your Chess game you can even play Checkers. The app comes pre loaded with a variety of Checkers games from around the world and some ancient versions of the game. You can even play some other abstract board games like Three Men's Morris or even Tic-Tac-Toe. Become more than a Chess Master A standard Chess game has 6 pieces. Chess Remix starts with more than 100. To help you learn them we have hand designed levels to help you understand and use every piece in Chess history and the new rules you might encounter. Unleash your creativity Have you created the next great board game? Or just something cool you would like to show off. Share your creations with the Remix community. Want to play unique games? Need some inspiration? Check out our discover section to see what other players have made. Features: - Competitive online play - Create your own original board games - Levels to help you learn and master Chess - Play against ai - Highly customisable app that reflects your style - Share your creations or play other people games

Screenshots

Chess ∙4 screens
Chess Remix4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chess ∙ at none against Chess Remix's 5. Chess ∙ also leads on ratings volume (208K vs 115) and chart position (#62 vs unranked). Chess Remix's advantage is review sentiment (76% vs 56%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). On price, rating and ads 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. Chess Remix sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Chess ∙ asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Chess ∙ against 4.4 for Chess Remix. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ∙ has 208K ratings behind it against 115, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 56% of Chess ∙'s written reviews are positive against 76% of Chess Remix's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, Chess Remix monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Chess ∙ versus Chess Remix: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess ∙Chess Remix
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (208K ratings) — better4.4 (115 ratings)
Positive reviews56.3% of reviews75.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings208K — better115
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsMonthly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#62 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size84 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOptime Software LLCAlexander Everett

Customer experience

Chess ∙

All ratings204,953 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral5.4%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews2,611 reviews
Positive56.3%
Neutral7.0%
Negative36.7%

Chess Remix

All ratings114 ratings
Positive85.1%
Neutral7.0%
Negative7.9%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive75.8%
Neutral6.1%
Negative18.2%

Bugs and requests

Chess ∙

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Rook being able to move diagonally
  • Stalemate glitch where it will preemptively call stalemate before it even happens
  • Call stalemate when only the king can't move, and the other pieces can still move
  • Pieces move too fast
  • Doesn't allow en-passant moves by pawns
Show 5 more
  • Refuses to allow legitimate win, claims draw instead
  • Doesn't recognize stalemate
  • Doesn't recognize checkmate
  • Pieces disappearing
  • Illegal moves by the AI

Requested features

6 requests
  • Undo from stalemate
  • Highland opponents last move in green and my last move in blue
  • Allow a third level of zoom to fill the screen
  • Display a numeric value when difficulty slider is moved
  • Ability to turn off safety where you can't move king to where it would get taken out
Show 1 more
  • Ability to turn off draw by stalemate rule

Chess Remix

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Chess ∙

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Chess Remix

Subscriptions4
  • Remix Royalty$0.991 Month
  • Remix Royalty$2.996 Months
  • Remix Royalty$4.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Remix Royalty7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Remix Royalty$14.99

Questions

Is Chess ∙ free?
Chess ∙ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Remix free?
Chess Remix is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess ∙ or Chess Remix?
Chess ∙ is rated higher. Chess ∙ averages 4.5 out of 5 from 208K ratings, while Chess Remix averages 4.4 from 115 ratings.
Do Chess ∙ or Chess Remix have ads?
Both Chess ∙ and Chess Remix show ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess ∙ or Chess Remix?
Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, and Chess Remix monthly. Most recently, Chess ∙ was updated on November 7, 2026 and Chess Remix on November 3, 2026.

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