Comparison

Chess vs Chess Sudoku

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

Head to head
About

Chess

Engage in the classic game of chess with customizable graphics and multiple difficulty levels. Play against AI or a friend, with features like move undo, hints, and time controls. Enjoy a rich chess experience with detailed game history and board customization.

Highlights
  • HD graphics
  • 5 difficulty levels
  • Hint option
  • Play against computer or friend
  • 2D and 3D themes
  • Unlimited undo moves
  • Time control options
Features
Read full description

Chess is #1 popular game in the world. According to FIDE, about 600 million people play chess and it is the most widespread game on the planet. "The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions..." (Benjamin Franklin, scientist) Game features: - HD graphics for iPhone 5 and the new iPad retina display - 5 levels of difficulty - hint option to find out the best next move - play either white or black - play against the computer or a friend - 2D and 3D themes for chess pieces - unlimited ability to undo moves - AI quick response time - time control (5, 15, 30 or 60 minutes) - animated moves - highlight legal moves - easy to use interface design - ability to go back to any previous position in the game - auto-save when exit or phone ring - view captured pieces - full game history with chess notation - change the appearance of the board - ability to listen music in background Play one of the oldest and most enjoyable games in the world!

About

Chess Sudoku

This app combines classic Sudoku with chess-inspired logic. Solve puzzles where digits cannot repeat in rows, columns, or boxes, and also adhere to specific chess piece movement rules for added challenge. Earn stars by solving puzzles to unlock more.

Highlights
  • Knight Sudoku puzzles
  • King Sudoku puzzles
  • Queen Sudoku puzzles
  • 100 crafted puzzles
  • Human-tested hints
  • Star-based progression
Features
Read full description

***** AUGUST UPDATE ***** 15 new King puzzles, all 100 puzzles are out now! ------------------------------------- Presented by Cracking The Cryptic, YouTube’s most popular Sudoku channel, comes a new game that connects two of the world’s biggest mind games: Chess and Sudoku! How does Chess Sudoku work? Well we’ve taken the classic sudoku game everyone knows and loves and created puzzles with chess-related twists! There are three different types of puzzles in the game: Knight Sudoku; King Sudoku and Queen Sudoku. In Knight Sudoku, in addition to the normal rules of sudoku (no repeated digit in a row/column/3x3 box) a digit must not appear a chess knight’s move away from itself. This simple extra restriction introduces lots of clever additional logic that makes the puzzle even more interesting! King Sudoku and Queen Sudoku work the same way: ie it’s always normal sudoku but, in King Sudoku a digit must not be a single diagonal move away from itself; and, in Queen Sudoku, every 9 in the grid acts like a chess Queen and must not be in the same row/column/3x3 box OR diagonal of any other 9! As with their other games (‘Classic Sudoku’ and ‘Sandwich Sudoku’), Simon Anthony and Mark Goodliffe (the hosts of Cracking The Cryptic) have personally crafted the hints for the puzzles. So you know that every puzzle has been play-tested by a human being to ensure that the sudoku is interesting and fun to solve. In Cracking The Cryptic’s games, players start with zero stars and earn stars by solving puzzles. The more puzzles you solve, the more stars you earn and the more puzzles you get to play. Only the most dedicated (and cleverest) sudoku players will finish all the puzzles. Of course the difficulty is carefully calibrated to ensure lots of puzzles at every level (from easy through to extreme). Anyone familiar with their YouTube channel will know that Simon and Mark take pride in teaching to be better solvers and, with their games, they always craft the puzzles with the mindset of trying to help solvers improve their skills. Mark and Simon have both represented the UK many times at the World Sudoku Championship and you can find more of their puzzles (and lots of others) on the internet’s biggest sudoku channel Cracking The Cryptic. Features: 100 beautiful puzzles from the Knight, King and Queen variants Hints crafted by Simon and Mark!

Screenshots

Chess4 screens
Chess Sudoku3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chess at Free against Chess Sudoku's $4.99. Chess also leads on ratings volume (39K vs 148). Chess Sudoku's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and review sentiment (84% vs 70%). On rating, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Chess is free to download; Chess Sudoku costs $4.99 up front. Chess sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Chess Sudoku asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Chess Sudoku holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess has 39K ratings behind it against 148, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 84% of Chess Sudoku's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ships an update every 6 weeks, Chess Sudoku every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Chess versus Chess Sudoku: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessChess Sudoku
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.7 (39K ratings)4.9 (148 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.2% of reviews84.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings39K — better148
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.410.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVintolo LtdNick Carney

Customer experience

Chess

All ratings38,795 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews574 reviews
Positive70.2%
Neutral11.1%
Negative18.6%

Chess Sudoku

All ratings148 ratings
Positive97.3%
Neutral2.0%
Negative0.7%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive84.4%
Neutral12.5%
Negative3.1%

User reviews

Chess

From 39K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for beginners
  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 💡 Helpful puzzles and hints
  • 🎨 Customizable chess sets
  • 🎮 Fun and challenging

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy pawn movement
  • 🤖 AI too easy even on hard mode
  • ⏱️ Stalemate issues
  • 💰 Paid hints for puzzles
  • 🔁 Repetitive AI moves

Chess Sudoku

From 148 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great puzzles
  • 💡 Innovative chess constraints
  • 👍 Intuitive interface
  • 👍 Helpful hints
  • 👍 Smooth gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Queen move puzzles have errors
  • 🐛 Puzzles lack variety
  • 🐛 Difficulty ratings are odd
  • 🐛 App can be boring after finishing puzzles
  • 🐛 High power consumption

Bugs and requests

Chess

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incorrect stalemate detection
  • Pieces disappearing or moving incorrectly
  • Compatibility issues on older devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to replay puzzles
  • Undo/redo move functionality
  • Online/multiplayer mode
  • More advanced AI difficulty
  • Improved stalemate detection

Chess Sudoku

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Queen move puzzles have errors/contradictions
  • Puzzles sometimes have multiple solutions
  • Queen puzzles sometimes appear as plain sudoku
  • Queen sudoku has errors forcing restraint breaks
  • iPad app doesn't allow 180-degree orientation change
Show 7 more
  • iPad app doesn't allow landscape play (initially)
  • Highlighting colors difficult to toggle
  • Buttons are too small and confusing
  • Queen rules not followed in some puzzles
  • Queen puzzle 1 has incorrect entries/solutions
  • Queen sudoku has numbers on the same diagonal
  • Queen sudoku has numbers within a king's move

Requested features

17 requests
  • Larger number buttons
  • More puzzle variety
  • More puzzles overall
  • Cloud saves
  • Landscape mode for iPad
Show 12 more
  • More color options for cell painting
  • Tutorial for notation
  • Consolidate apps into one with IAP
  • Remember last opened puzzle
  • Button to clear markings from selected cells only
  • Indicator for relevant hint cells
  • Tool to notice current mode (Knight, King, Queen)
  • More colors for notation
  • Option to disable beginner tools
  • Improved corner note alignment
  • Option to play horizontally on iPad
  • Better button optimization based on frequency of use

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Chess

One-time4
  • 10 hints$4.99
  • 45 hints$19.99
  • 125 hints$49.99
Show 1 more
  • 200 hints$69.99
None

Chess Sudoku

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Chess free?
Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Sudoku free?
Chess Sudoku costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Chess or Chess Sudoku?
Chess Sudoku is rated higher. Chess averages 4.7 out of 5 from 39K ratings, while Chess Sudoku averages 4.9 from 148 ratings.
Do Chess or Chess Sudoku have ads?
Neither Chess nor Chess Sudoku shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess or Chess Sudoku?
Chess ships an update every 6 weeks, and Chess Sudoku every 2 months. Most recently, Chess was updated on November 7, 2026 and Chess Sudoku on November 7, 2026.

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