Comparison

Esfera Chess vs Root Down

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

Root Down

An original abstract strategy game for two players with unique movement rules. Figure out how to move your pieces to capture your opponent's and win. Offers AI play and pass-and-play modes with variable setups.

Highlights
  • Abstract strategy gameplay
  • Unique piece movement rules
  • AI opponent
  • Pass-and-play mode
  • Variable game setups
Features
Read full description

Root Down is an original abstract strategy game designed by Martin Grider for 2-players. It's rules about which pieces you can move are a little quirky, but once you figure it out, it's very quick to play, and has some interesting gameplay mechanics. In Root Down, you have two types of pieces. There are "kicker" pieces that must be next to a "root" piece to move. (Root pieces cannot move.) Kickers can only move exactly as far as the number of kickers next to the root. After a kicker moves, it "kicks" all of the neighboring pieces, then settles down into a new "root" piece. If you kick one of your own root pieces, it becomes another "kicker"! Kicking an opponent's root does the same, and if you kick it again before it has a chance to move, you'll to capture it! The game features an AI player, as well as pass-and-play options. There are several variable setups to chose from. Each one plays slightly different. Please use the "send feedback" button to send me your input, or email me: rootdown@abstractpuzzle.com

Screenshots

Esfera Chess2 screens
Root Down4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Esfera Chess at 4.4 against Root Down's 4.0. Esfera Chess also leads on ratings volume (11 vs 3). Root Down's advantage is update cadence (every 27 months vs every 92 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 84%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Esfera Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 3 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 84% of Esfera Chess's written reviews are positive against 100% of Root Down's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Esfera Chess ships an update every 92 months, Root Down every 27 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Esfera Chess versus Root Down: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEsfera ChessRoot Down
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (11 ratings) — better4.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews84.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 92 monthsEvery 27 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.4
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB1 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%

Root Down

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Esfera Chess

No in-app purchases

None

Root Down

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Esfera Chess free?
Esfera Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Root Down free?
Root Down is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Esfera Chess or Root Down?
Esfera Chess is rated higher. Esfera Chess averages 4.4 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Root Down averages 4.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Esfera Chess or Root Down have ads?
Neither Esfera Chess nor Root Down shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Esfera Chess or Root Down?
Esfera Chess ships an update every 92 months, and Root Down every 27 months. Most recently, Esfera Chess was updated on October 8, 2026 and Root Down on October 4, 2026.

Other comparisons