Esfera Chess vs TriLevelChess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
TriLevelChess
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EXPERIENCE CHESS IN THREE DIMENSIONS Tri Level Chess reimagines the classic game with a revolutionary vertical twist. Play on three stacked boards where pieces can move up and down between levels, creating entirely new tactical possibilities and strategic depth. MASTER VERTICAL STRATEGY - Move pieces across three parallel chess boards - Rooks ascend and descend vertically like elevators - Knights leap between levels with devastating effect - Bishops cut diagonal paths through multiple planes - Every piece gains new attacking angles and escape routes MANY EXCITING VARIANTS Classic 3D Chess Experience traditional chess rules across three dimensions. Perfect for learning the vertical strategy fundamentals. Chess960 (Fischer Random) Randomized starting positions on three levels create 960 unique opening configurations. No memorized openings—just pure strategy. Atomic Chess Captures trigger explosive chain reactions! When pieces capture, both attacker and captured piece (plus adjacent non-pawns) vanish in a blast. Kings can never capture. Aggressive tactics meet calculated risk. Crazyhouse Captured pieces join your hand and can be dropped back onto any level! Place opponent's pieces as your own for wild tactical combinations across all three boards. Looming Extinction Your chess world is shrinking. Can you prevail before there are not moves left? Frontier Chess Your chess world is about to expand! King of the Hill Move your king to the center area for a quick win! PLAY YOUR WAY - Challenge the AI with three difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, Hard) - Play locally against friends with pass-and-play - Compete asynchronously via Remote Play - share moves through messages or email - Set up custom positions and puzzles - Choose starting levels: both on the same board, or split between top and bottom POWERFUL FEATURES - See valid moves highlighted across all three levels - Inspect enemy piece threats with long-press - Full undo/redo navigation through game history - Complete move log tracking - Material advantage calculator - Optional chess clock with customizable time controls - Save and load multiple games - Share positions with friends - Export games for analysis - Setup positions and share with friends THOUGHTFUL DESIGN - Clean, intuitive interface designed for iPad and iPhone - Smooth piece dragging with haptic feedback - Zoom and pan for detailed board inspection - Portrait and landscape support - No ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchases - Buy once, play forever PERFECT FOR - Chess players seeking new challenges beyond 2D - Strategy game enthusiasts who love deep tactical puzzles - Puzzle creators exploring three-dimensional tactics - Friends looking for a unique competitive experience - Anyone curious about chess with a vertical dimension THREE BOARDS. INFINITE POSSIBILITIES. Download Tri Level Chess and discover a whole new dimension of strategy.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Esfera Chess at Free against TriLevelChess's $0.99. TriLevelChess's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 92 months). On ads, in-app purchases, 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
Esfera Chess is free to download; TriLevelChess costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Esfera Chess ships an update every 92 months, TriLevelChess every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 6, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Esfera Chess | TriLevelChess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (11 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 84.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 11 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 92 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Squz | David Michael Matusow |
In-app purchases
Esfera Chess
No in-app purchases
TriLevelChess
No in-app purchases





