Comparison

Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles vs 8bit Chess

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

Head to head
About

Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles

Challenge your chess skills with over 1200 interactive puzzles designed to help you force a checkmate in three moves. This app offers a revamped engine, timing clock, customizable piece sets and color schemes, and social leaderboards. It's ideal for players looking to improve their tactical abilities.

Highlights
  • Over 1200 chess puzzles
  • Force checkmate in 3 moves
  • Revamped chess engine
  • Timing clock and solve times
  • Customizable piece sets and color schemes
  • Social leaderboards
  • Facebook integration
Features
Read full description

The Ultimate mate in 3 moves chess puzzle app! Sharpen your chess skills with Mate in 3 Puzzles! Beginners and experienced players will enjoy solving these chess problems! This app has over 1200 interactive chess puzzles that will challenge you. The object is to finish each game by forcing a checkmate in 3 moves. The puzzles consist of a large number of classical puzzles collected from a variety of sources. These puzzles are fun to play and can be enjoyed at your leisure on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Mate in 3 chess problems are especially useful for moderate to advanced chess players or anyone wanting to improve their skills. New features added in Version 2.0 include: ------------------------------ - Completely revamped chess engine that is much stronger - Timing clock is displayed while you are working on each puzzle. How long you take to solve a puzzle is stored. - New options: more chess piece sets (total of 7) and more colors schemes (total of 7) including wood and marble. (Improved the options menu as well) - Social Gaming: Leaderboards to compare the number of puzzles you have solved with your friends and other players. Facebook integration - including the ability to post your progress and ask your friends for help on a puzzle. - Universal app - works on iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad - high resolution graphics all around (where supported). For even more chess puzzle challenges check out these apps: - Mate in 1 Puzzles - Mate in 2 Puzzles - Mate in 4+ Puzzles

About

8bit Chess

Master chess tactics with over 10,000 puzzles in a classic 8-bit style. Features include various puzzle types, difficulty levels, and a hint system. Play offline or against an AI.

Highlights
  • 10,000+ curated chess puzzles
  • 7 difficulty levels
  • Mate in X and themed puzzles
  • Endgame and Opening puzzles
  • Freeplay against ChessJS AI
  • Offline play
  • Hint system
Features
Read full description

8bit Chess - Chess Puzzles Training Master chess tactics with thousands of puzzles in classic 8-bit style! FEATURES: • 10,000+ curated chess puzzles • 7 difficulty levels (600-2500+ rating) • Mate in X puzzles • 10+ themed puzzles • Endgame puzzles • Opening puzzles • Freeplay against ChessJS AI after completing a puzzle • 100+ Beautiful retro themes (with many more to come!) • Hint system for learning • Progress tracking • Offline play PREMIUM UPGRADE: • Remove all ads • Unlock all themes • Unlimited Hints • Support indie development Perfect for beginners learning tactics or masters staying sharp. Download now and become a chess puzzle master!

Screenshots

Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles4 screens
8bit Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: 8bit Chess at Free against Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles's $0.99. 8bit Chess also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (100% vs 68%). Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

8bit Chess is free to download; Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles costs $0.99 up front. 8bit Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

8bit Chess holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles's written reviews are positive against 100% of 8bit Chess's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles ships an update every 7 months, 8bit Chess fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 1 level
Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles versus 8bit Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMate in 3 Chess Puzzles8bit Chess
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (12 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings12 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB28 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperGano Technologies LLCKrishan Panduwawala

Customer experience

Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles

All ratings12 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive68.4%
Neutral15.8%
Negative15.8%

8bit Chess

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

8bit Chess

One-time1
  • 8bit Chess Puzzles Premium$3.99

Questions

Is Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles free?
Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is 8bit Chess free?
8bit Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles or 8bit Chess?
8bit Chess is rated higher. Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles averages 4.3 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while 8bit Chess averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles or 8bit Chess have ads?
8bit Chess shows ads; Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles does not.
Which is updated more often, Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles or 8bit Chess?
Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles ships an update every 7 months, and 8bit Chess fortnightly. Most recently, Mate in 3 Chess Puzzles was updated on October 29, 2026 and 8bit Chess on October 20, 2026.

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