Chess ∙ vs Safari Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 1 and 2 player gameplay
- Challenging computer opponent
- Great graphics and sound
- Configurable difficulty
- Undo function
- Automatic save
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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.
Safari Chess
Engage in a strategic board game with animal-themed pieces. Challenge friends online or test your skills against AI opponents of varying difficulty. Enjoy smooth graphics, engaging animations, and a polished gameplay experience suitable for all ages.
- Single player AI challenges
- Online multiplayer with friends
- Local 2-player mode
- Customizable emotes
- Collectible achievements
- Cross-platform online play
- Game log and replay
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* 5 Stars Recommended by Tencent Games Play 'Safari Chess' which is also commonly known as Dou Shou Qi, Jungle Chess, or Animals Chess with anyone from all around the world. Play the multiplayer mode online with friends or try the single player mode to challenge and ultimately defeat the Dragon Master. Smooth and appealing graphics, animation suitable for all age groups. With great sound finish to the game, it is definitely a highly polished game and worth checking out. Features: • Single player with multiple difficulty AI levels suitable from beginners to advanced players. • Play live, compete online with friends or anyone from around the world. • Support 2 players to play against each other on the same device. • Custom emotes to express yourself to your friends or opponents alike. • Unique Safari Chess's achievements crests to be collected. • Cross-platform online multiplayer. • Online multiplayer game log and replay.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Chess ∙ at 205K against Safari Chess's 88. Chess ∙ also leads on chart position (#90 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). Safari Chess's advantage is review sentiment (77% vs 57%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Chess ∙ against 4.4 for Safari Chess. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess ∙ has 205K ratings behind it against 88, 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 77% of Safari Chess's.
Chess ∙ ships an update every 4 months, Safari Chess monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess ∙ | Safari Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (205K ratings) — better | 4.4 (88 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 57.1% of reviews | 76.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 205K — better | 88 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Best chart rank | #90 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Optime Software LLC | Windigig |
Customer experience
Chess ∙
Safari Chess
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
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- 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
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- Ability to turn off draw by stalemate rule
Safari Chess
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chess ∙
No in-app purchases
Safari Chess
No in-app purchases
