Digital Chess Clock vs Mini Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Digital Chess Clock
This application transforms your iPhone into a digital chess clock. It displays move counts and remaining time, with customizable settings for delays and sound. Easily adjust clock times and manage game flow with intuitive pause and reset functions.
- Digital chess clock functionality
- Displays move counts and remaining time
- Customizable delay types (None, Bronstein, Fisher)
- Adjustable clock times
- Sound volume control
- Pause and reset functions
Read full descriptionHide full description
This iPhone application allows the phone to act as a chess clock. The phone is placed to the side of the board with white being at the bottom of the phone, black at the top. The number of moves made is displayed, with the remaining number of moves left to make displayed in brackets. Pressing the start button causes the clock to start depending on whose turn it is to move. Once the clock is started the clock for the person to move starts counting down and the Clock text color changes to Black. The reset button, settings button and clock adjustment buttons are not available whilst the clock is running. Pressing the pause button whilst the clock is running will stop the clock and re-enable the settings, reset & clock adjust buttons (see the initial clock above). There are a number of setting to control the sound, the clock delay type and the initial clock settings. Pressing the settings button (the small letter i to the right of the start button) whilst paused brings up the setting display. The volume of the ticking is controlled by the slider on the settings page, moving it to the left reduces the volume of the clock. There are 3 settings for the delay type None - the clock will count down from the time the player makes a move. Bronstein - the clock will count down until the player makes a move at which point the delay time is added to the display. If the player takes less than the delay amount to make a move then only the amount of time taken to make the move is added. Fisher - the Delay amount is added to the time left and then the clock starts counting down. Each clock can be adjusted separately by pressing the adjust clock button (the small blue chevron at the bottom right of each clock). The clock time can be adjusted by pressing the appropriate amount of time to add or subtract (scroll down to see the times to subtract).
Mini Chess
Enjoy a simplified, faster version of chess on your mobile device. Play against AI or a friend on a smaller board with fewer pieces. Ideal for beginners and quick matches.
- Simplified 6x6 chessboard
- Fewer pieces (no knights/bishops)
- Play against 3 AI levels
- Local multiplayer mode
- Quick matches
- Beginner-friendly
Read full descriptionHide full description
The traditional game of chess made easier and quicker, perfect for iPhone and iPad. Download it now for free and start play in just 1 tap! Mini Chess is a modern simplified version of classic chess, perfect for playing on your phone and tablet, on your own, with 3 level of Artificial Intelligence, or with a friend on the same device (multiplayer). Play on a smaller chessboard (6x6), with less pieces (no knights and bishops) and have fun on more speedy matches than classic chess. Play straight away, with friends, online or solo, and every match takes just minutes. Mini Chess is also perfect for kids to start play the all-time-favourite classic board game. Kids and beginners will find it so easy to learn and to enjoy in just 1 tap and experts will love the new challenge of playing in a different setting. Thanks for playing!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Digital Chess Clock at none against Mini Chess's 1. Digital Chess Clock also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Mini Chess's advantage is ratings volume (345 vs 2) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, review sentiment, device support and iOS requirement 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. Mini Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Digital Chess Clock asks for nothing beyond the download.
Digital Chess Clock holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mini Chess has 345 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Digital Chess Clock's written reviews are positive against 83% of Mini Chess's.
Digital Chess Clock ships an update every 4 months, Mini Chess every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 1, 2026.
| Parameter | Digital Chess Clock | Mini Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.6 (345 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 88.9% of reviews — better | 82.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 345 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Philip Bevan | OutOfTheBit Ltd |
Customer experience
Digital Chess Clock
Mini Chess
Bugs and requests
Digital Chess Clock
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Mini Chess
Reported bugs
5 issues- Checkmate declared incorrectly with viable moves available
- Queen positioned on wrong color
- AI allows illegal moves to prevent player from winning
- Stalemate not handled correctly
- Perpetual check rules unfairly favor opponent
Requested features
10 requests- Add Knights and Bishops to piece options
- Alternative piece combinations (2 Rooks + 2 Bishops)
- Randomized starting positions
- Landscape mode for iPad
- Random color assignment (white/black alternation)
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Ability to play full traditional chess
- Create custom board feature
- Extremely hard difficulty level
- Physical board version
- Draw by repetition after 3 moves
In-app purchases
Digital Chess Clock
No in-app purchases
Mini Chess
- Remove Ads$1.99
Questions
Is Digital Chess Clock free?
Is Mini Chess free?
Which has better reviews, Digital Chess Clock or Mini Chess?
Do Digital Chess Clock or Mini Chess have ads?
Which is updated more often, Digital Chess Clock or Mini Chess?
Other comparisons















