SimpleChess vs Mini Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SimpleChess
Engage in a straightforward and rapid chess experience. Compete globally, customize your board and pieces, and track your ELO ranking. Enhance your skills with tactical training and puzzle battles.
- Online multiplayer chess
- Customizable chessboards and pieces
- Tactical training modules
- Puzzle battles
- ELO ranking tracking
- Chess960 variant
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Play chess online - it's that simple! Simple, practical and fast, SimpleChess makes playing chess as easy as child's play! • It's free! • Compete against opponents from all over the world • Customize your chessboard, with 20 piece types and 40 chessboard designs • 10 different themes (5 dark, 5 light) • Choose your game rating: fast, blitz, bullet, or create the rating of your choice • Track your progress with your ELO ranking • Make progress with our tactical training modules • Challenge other players to a puzzle battle • Play Chess960, a variant of the chess game • Earn XP experience points with every game Become a member and enjoy additional features: • Analyze your games by computer • Find your friends easily • And enjoy full access to our training modules!
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
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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 rating: Mini Chess at 4.6 against SimpleChess's 4.0. Mini Chess also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 53%) and ratings volume (345 vs 8). SimpleChess's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Both are free to download. SimpleChess sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Mini Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Mini Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mini Chess has 345 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of SimpleChess's written reviews are positive against 83% of Mini Chess's.
SimpleChess ships an update every 8 days, Mini Chess every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SimpleChess | Mini Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (8 ratings) | 4.6 (345 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.7% of reviews | 82.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8 | 345 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 82 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Europe Echecs | OutOfTheBit Ltd |
Customer experience
SimpleChess
Mini Chess
Bugs and requests
SimpleChess
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)
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- 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
SimpleChess
- Essential Pack (Monthly plan)$2.991 Month
- Premium Pack (Monthly plan)$3.991 Month
- Essential Pack (Annual Plan)$24.991 Year
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- Premium Pack (Annual Plan)$34.991 Year
- 1 month extend$0.99
- 3 months extend$1.99
- 6 month extend$3.99
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- 1 year extend$5.99
Mini Chess
- Remove Ads$1.99
Questions
Is SimpleChess free?
Is Mini Chess free?
Which has better reviews, SimpleChess or Mini Chess?
Do SimpleChess or Mini Chess have ads?
Which is updated more often, SimpleChess or Mini Chess?
Other comparisons
