Comparison

Esfera Chess vs Catchup

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

Catchup

Master a beautiful abstract strategy game by connecting hexes to create the largest group. Features include a challenging AI, online multiplayer, and pass-and-play options. Learn the simple rules and strive for difficult mastery.

Highlights
  • Interactive tutorial
  • Challenging AI opponent
  • Online turn-based multiplayer
  • Two-player pass-and-play
  • Minimalist graphics
  • Customizable colors
  • Leaderboards & Achievements
Read full description

Catchup is a simple game of surprising turnarounds. "Catchup is as elegant as a game can reasonably be, presented in a marvelously user-friendly way.” -Pocket Tactics (5-star review) "If you're even a little bit into strategy games, you need to get some Catchup all over your mobile device." -Touch Arcade (4 & 1/2 star review) Can you have the largest group at the end of the game? Connect your hexes to master this beautiful abstract strategy game. Features: - an interactive tutorial to teach you how to play - a challenging AI opponent whose difficulty changes as you play - online turn-based multiplayer via Game Center - two-player pass-and-play on the same device - beautiful and haunting music by Tori Kamal - minimalist graphics with customizable colors - Game Center Leaderboards & Achievements - simple and easy to learn rules and gameplay - difficult to master strategy Here are all the rules: 1. One player plays all the hexes of one color and the other player plays all the hexes of the other color. The first player begins by claiming 1 empty hex for their color. 2. Starting with the second player, each player must claim 1 or 2 hexes on their turn. 3. If the largest group of hexes at the end of a turn is larger than the largest group of hexes at the beginning of that turn (regardless of color), the next player may claim up to 3 hexes on their turn. (This does not apply after the first player claims a single hex in step 1 above.) 4. The game ends when the board is full. The player with the largest group wins. If the players’ largest groups are the same size, compare their second-largest groups, and so on, until you come to a pair which aren’t the same size. Whoever owns the larger of the two wins. Catchup is an original Board Game designed by Nick Bentley.

Screenshots

Esfera Chess2 screens
Catchup3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Catchup at 4.7 against Esfera Chess's 4.4. On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

Catchup holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 11 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Esfera Chess's written reviews are positive against 88% of Catchup's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Esfera Chess ships an update every 92 months, Catchup every 101 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Esfera Chess versus Catchup: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEsfera ChessCatchup
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (11 ratings)4.7 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.0% of reviews88.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1111
Update frequencyEvery 92 months — betterEvery 101 months
AdsNo—
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSquzMartin Grider

Customer experience

Esfera Chess

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

Catchup

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative5.9%

In-app purchases

None

Esfera Chess

No in-app purchases

None

Catchup

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Esfera Chess free?
Esfera Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Catchup free?
Catchup is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Esfera Chess or Catchup?
Catchup is rated higher. Esfera Chess averages 4.4 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Catchup averages 4.7 from 11 ratings.
Which is updated more often, Esfera Chess or Catchup?
Esfera Chess ships an update every 92 months, and Catchup every 101 months. Most recently, Esfera Chess was updated on October 21, 2026 and Catchup on October 12, 2026.

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