Comparison

Esfera Chess vs Pawn Game

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Pawn Game

This strategic game simplifies chess to focus solely on pawn mechanics. It's designed for beginners to learn core rules and for experienced players to hone pawn strategy and endgame skills against an adaptive AI.

Highlights
  • Beginner-friendly pawn rules
  • Pawn structure practice
  • Adaptive AI engine
  • Unlockable achievements
  • Distraction-free 2D board
Features
Read full description

Pawn Game is a strategic, fast-paced 2D chess-pawn board game. Easy to learn yet deep in strategy, face off against an adaptive AI in a battle of pawn tactics and breakthroughs! NEW IN PAWNGAME PRO: • Real-time Coaching: Instant tactical alerts that identify blunders, mistakes, and missed winning opportunities. • Move Hints: Stuck? Get a hint for the next move. • Ad-Free Experience: Enjoy uninterrupted, distraction-free games. KEY FEATURES: • Clean, modern chess-pawn mechanics with breakthrough and capture rules. • 3 Adaptive AI Difficulty Levels • Move Undo support for learning and perfecting strategies. • Offline play: Enjoy matches anywhere, anytime. Master the board and lead your pawns to victory!

Screenshots

Esfera Chess2 screens
Pawn Game4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pawn Game at 5.0 against Esfera Chess's 4.4. Pawn Game also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 92 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 84%). Esfera Chess's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pawn Game holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Esfera Chess's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pawn Game's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Esfera Chess ships an update every 92 months, Pawn Game every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Esfera Chess versus Pawn Game: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEsfera ChessPawn Game
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (11 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 92 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSquzPixel Shastra LLC

Customer experience

Esfera Chess

All ratings11 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral9.1%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive84.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative12.0%

Pawn Game

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Esfera Chess

No in-app purchases

None

Pawn Game

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Esfera Chess free?
Esfera Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pawn Game free?
Pawn Game is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Esfera Chess or Pawn Game?
Pawn Game is rated higher. Esfera Chess averages 4.4 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Pawn Game averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Esfera Chess or Pawn Game have ads?
Pawn Game shows ads; Esfera Chess does not.
Which is updated more often, Esfera Chess or Pawn Game?
Esfera Chess ships an update every 92 months, and Pawn Game every 3 weeks. Most recently, Esfera Chess was updated on October 24, 2026 and Pawn Game on October 9, 2026.

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