Comparison

Real Chess vs Chess Board

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

Head to head
About

Real Chess

Experience the classic two-player board game of strategy and tactics. Challenge opponents and aim to 'checkmate' their king. This digital version offers a familiar and engaging way to play.

Highlights
  • Two-player board game
  • Classic chess rules
  • Strategic gameplay
  • Checkmate objective
  • Multiple game phases
Features
Read full description

Game Center chess game. Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments. Each player begins the game with sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. Each of the six piece types moves differently. Pieces are used to attack and capture the opponent's pieces, with the object of the game being to 'checkmate' the opponent's king by placing it under an inescapable threat of capture. In addition to checkmate, the game can be won by the voluntary resignation of one's opponent, which typically occurs when too much material is lost, or if checkmate appears unavoidable. A game may also result in a draw in several ways, where neither player wins. The course of the game is divided into three phases: opening, middlegame and endgame.

About

Chess Board

This app provides a digital chess board for two players to compete face-to-face on a single device. It offers a realistic game-room aesthetic and allows for saving games, with additional customization options available through a one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • Face-to-face local multiplayer
  • Realistic game-room aesthetic
  • Piece and board customization
  • Automatic game saving
  • Move history and navigation
  • Offline play
Features
Read full description

Your next move, across the table. Use one iPhone or iPad as a chess board and play face to face with family or friends. There is no AI opponent and no online play: this is a board for two people at the same table. ■ A game-room look Green felt with walnut, gold and ivory. Boxwood and ebony pieces on a maple and walnut board by default. Pieces are larger and easier to see. ■ Play Tap or drag a piece to move it. Includes promotion, board flipping, coordinates and sound. Jump to the start, step back or forward one move, or jump to the end to rethink each move together. ■ Saved games Games save automatically on your device. Save, reopen, rename and delete up to 3 games for free, and continue after closing the app. ■ Additional Features (one-time purchase) One purchase unlocks everything below. No subscription, and nothing sold item by item. ・No ads ・Unlimited saved games ・Move records and a comment on every move ・Automatic iCloud backup (on/off switch, manual restore) ・Dress Up: freely mix 16 piece sets, 15 boards, 31 backgrounds and 5 sounds Earlier purchasers get all of it at no extra charge. ■ Dress Up Pieces in wood, marble, silver and bronze, glass, lacquer and gold, the Original ChessBoard style, and 10 classic flat sets under open licenses. Boards in wood, marble, ebony, glass, lacquer and more, plus 8 simple two-color boards. Backgrounds in felt, velvet, leather, night sky and solid colors. Sounds: wood, digital, glass, stone and metal. ■ 13 languages Choose in Settings: Japanese, English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Russian, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese. Free, with ads. Playing and saving on your device work offline. Ads, purchases, purchase restoration and iCloud backup need an internet connection. For iOS and iPadOS 15 or later. iPhone in portrait; iPad in portrait or landscape.

Screenshots

Real Chess1 screens
Chess Board4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Real Chess at 3.3 against Chess Board's 2.0. Real Chess also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 30 months). Chess Board's advantage is review sentiment (50% vs 36%). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Real Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Chess Board sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Real Chess holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Real Chess has 49 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 36% of Real Chess's written reviews are positive against 50% of Chess Board's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Real Chess ships an update fortnightly, Chess Board every 30 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Real Chess versus Chess Board: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReal ChessChess Board
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (49 ratings) — better2.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews36.1% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings49 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 30 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS4.3 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB17 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperNO WOO KYOUNGYuki Honda

Customer experience

Real Chess

All ratings48 ratings
Positive52.1%
Neutral8.3%
Negative39.6%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive36.1%
Neutral16.4%
Negative47.5%

Chess Board

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Real Chess

One-time1
  • Chess Upgrade$2.99
1 purchases

Chess Board

One-time1
  • Additional Features$5.99

Questions

Is Real Chess free?
Real Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Board free?
Chess Board is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Real Chess or Chess Board?
Real Chess is rated higher. Real Chess averages 3.3 out of 5 from 49 ratings, while Chess Board averages 2.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Real Chess or Chess Board have ads?
Chess Board shows ads; Real Chess does not.
Which is updated more often, Real Chess or Chess Board?
Real Chess ships an update fortnightly, and Chess Board every 30 months. Most recently, Real Chess was updated on November 6, 2026 and Chess Board on November 2, 2026.

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