Comparison

Chess ∙ vs Checkers

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

Checkers

Enjoy classic checkers with realistic graphics and multiple rule sets. Play against friends or family with single and two-player modes, featuring customizable themes and difficulty levels.

Highlights
  • Multiple rule sets supported
  • 1 or 2 player modes
  • Realistic graphics and animations
  • 3D and 2D board views
  • Customizable themes
  • Adjustable difficulty levels
  • Highlighting possible moves
Features
Read full description

Classic checkers with the ability to play for 1 or 2 players, combining simplicity and realistic graphics. Thanks to our checkers you will have a good time playing with your family as well as with your friends. Rule support: - American Checkers (English Draughts) - International Checkers (Polish) - Canadian Checkers - American Pool - Spanish / Portuguese Checkers - Italian Checkers - Brazilian Checkers - Czech Checkers - Russian Checkers - Turkish Checkers - Thai Checkers - Malay (Singaporeans) Checkers Peculiarities: - Realistic graphics and animations - 3D and 2D view of the checkerboard - Sound effects - 8 themes available (wood pine, oak, birch, walnut), as well as (classic black, blue, green, brown) - 3 difficulty levels available - Highlighting possible moves - Undo moves - Auto save gameplay - 2 player mode with automatic board rotation in 3D and 2D mode - Support for 12 game rules - Information about the rules of the game

Screenshots

Chess ∙4 screens
Checkers4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chess ∙ at none against Checkers's 1. Chess ∙ also leads on ratings volume (205K vs 792) and chart position (#79 vs unranked). Checkers's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and device support (4 vs 2). 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. Checkers sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 4.5 for Checkers. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ∙ has 205K ratings behind it against 792, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of Chess ∙'s written reviews are positive against 47% of Checkers's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, Checkers every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Chess ∙ versus Checkers: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess ∙Checkers
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (205K ratings)4.5 (792 ratings)
Positive reviews56.9% of reviews — better46.8% of reviews
Number of ratings205K — better792
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#79 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size84 MB176 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOptime Software LLCSergei Shendrikov

Customer experience

Chess ∙

All ratings204,953 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral5.4%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews2,579 reviews
Positive56.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative36.1%

Checkers

All ratings792 ratings
Positive87.9%
Neutral3.8%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews47 reviews
Positive46.8%
Neutral4.3%
Negative48.9%

User reviews

Chess ∙

From 205K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fun to play everyday
  • 👍 Good free game
  • 👍 Nice little game
  • 👍 Very good practice
  • 👍 Addictive

Room to improve

  • 🐛 AD crazy
  • 🐛 Major glitches make the game impossible
  • 🐛 Force draw
  • 🐛 Issues, needs fixing but has potential
  • 🐛 Disappearing Pieces

Checkers

From 792 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ❤️ Great game for kids
  • 👍 Love this classic game
  • 👍 Great interface
  • 👍 Very good features
  • 👍 Easy to use

Room to improve

  • 😡 Forced mandatory jumps
  • 😕 Screen flipping over
  • 😕 Weak AI difficulty
  • 😕 Rotating board in 2-player
  • 😡 Too many ads

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

Checkers

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game glitching out
  • Black screen issue
  • Incorrect game rules

Requested features

3 requests
  • Play against opponent online without ads
  • Ability to go back moves
  • More challenging AI difficulty

In-app purchases

None

Chess ∙

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Checkers

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$9.99

Questions

Is Chess ∙ free?
Chess ∙ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Checkers free?
Checkers is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess ∙ or Checkers?
Chess ∙ and Checkers are both rated 4.5 out of 5 on the App Store, from 205K and 792 ratings respectively.
Do Chess ∙ or Checkers have ads?
Both Chess ∙ and Checkers show ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess ∙ or Checkers?
Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, and Checkers every 3 weeks. Most recently, Chess ∙ was updated on September 26, 2026 and Checkers on September 24, 2026.

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