Comparison

Laser Chess vs Esfera Chess

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

Head to head
About

Laser Chess

Engage in a tactical duel where you must position mirrors and fire lasers to destroy your opponent's King. Master geometry and strategy across different game modes, playing solo, locally, or online.

Highlights
  • Tactical mirror placement
  • Laser firing mechanics
  • Classic and Advanced modes
  • Online and local multiplayer
  • Solo AI practice
  • Variety of reflective pieces
Read full description

Step into the ultimate tactical duel of mirrors and light. In Laser Chess, you must position your pieces, calculate precise angles, and fire your laser to obliterate the enemy King - before they do the same to you. AIM. FIRE. OUTTHINK. Every turn tests your spatial intelligence. Angle your mirrors to send the laser ricocheting across the board, but be careful: one misplaced piece, and the reflection could destroy your own King! Master the geometry, calculate your strategy, and brace yourself for the unpredictable chaos of the hypergons. It takes skill, nerve, and a little luck to win. CHOOSE YOUR BATTLEFIELD Classic Mode: Tight, high-tension gameplay with two actions per turn on a 9x9 grid. Advanced Mode: A massive 15x11 board, three actions per turn, and a chaotic arsenal of beam splitters, bombs, and hypergons. PLAY ANYONE, ANYWHERE Online Matchmaking: Play against friends, just connect and select each other. Local Pass-and-Play: Go head-to-head with a friend on a single screen. Solo AI Practice: Test new strategies offline against our practice AI. AN ARSENAL OF REFLECTION Command lasers, one-way mirrors, beam splitters, stunners, bombs, and more. Each piece bends, blocks, or scatters light in a unique way. Master their interactions to turn the entire board into a deadly weapon. BACKED BY LASERCHESS.ORG Celebrating a thriving community and 25+ years of laser chess support by laserchess.org. Easy to learn. A lifetime to master. Line up the perfect shot.

About

Esfera Chess

Experience chess on a unique 3D spherical board with 132 hexagonal and pentagonal cells. Enjoy familiar pieces with entirely new strategic possibilities due to the curved surface. Play against AI, a friend locally, or learn with an interactive tutorial.

Highlights
  • 132-cell geodesic sphere board
  • Familiar chess pieces, new strategy
  • Local AI and pass-and-play modes
  • Interactive 10-step tutorial
  • Animated piece movements
  • Full iPad support
Features
Read full description

Chess reimagined on a sphere. Two armies clash on a geodesic world of 132 hexagonal and pentagonal cells — familiar pieces, completely new strategy. Every piece you know from chess is here — kings, queens, rooks, bishops, knights, and pawns — but the curved surface changes everything. There are no edges, no corners, and no safe back rank. Attacks come from every direction. PLAY LOCALLY Challenge the built-in AI, or pass-and-play with a friend on the same device. Pick your color before every game. LEARN An interactive 10-step tutorial teaches every piece type hands-on. Tap a piece to see where it can move. An in-game rules reference is always available. FEATURES - 132-cell geodesic sphere with translucent surface - Pinch to zoom, swipe to rotate, two-finger twist - Animated piece movements with auto-rotating globe - Cinematic intro sequence - Sound effects for moves, captures, and check - Full iPad support - No ads. No pay-to-win. Just chess on a sphere.

Screenshots

Laser Chess3 screens
Esfera Chess2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Esfera Chess at 84% against Laser Chess's 33%. Esfera Chess also leads on rating (4.4 vs 1.7). Laser Chess's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 92 months) and ratings volume (177 vs 11). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Esfera Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Laser Chess has 177 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Laser Chess's written reviews are positive against 84% of Esfera Chess's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Laser Chess ships an update every 6 days, Esfera Chess every 92 months. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Laser Chess versus Esfera Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLaser ChessEsfera Chess
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.7 (177 ratings)4.4 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews84.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings177 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 92 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperModular Dreams IncSquz

Customer experience

Laser Chess

All ratings177 ratings
Positive10.2%
Neutral6.8%
Negative83.1%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

Esfera Chess

All ratings11 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral9.1%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive84.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative12.0%

In-app purchases

None

Laser Chess

No in-app purchases

None

Esfera Chess

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Laser Chess free?
Laser Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Esfera Chess free?
Esfera Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Laser Chess or Esfera Chess?
Esfera Chess is rated higher. Laser Chess averages 1.7 out of 5 from 177 ratings, while Esfera Chess averages 4.4 from 11 ratings.
Do Laser Chess or Esfera Chess have ads?
Neither Laser Chess nor Esfera Chess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Laser Chess or Esfera Chess?
Laser Chess ships an update every 6 days, and Esfera Chess every 92 months. Most recently, Laser Chess was updated on October 5, 2026 and Esfera Chess on October 17, 2026.

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