Comparison

Patolli vs Fidchell

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

Head to head
About

Patolli

Experience an ancient board game with roots in Aztec and Mayan cultures. Play against AI, friends locally, or challenge players online with text chat. Discover a game rich in history and religious symbolism.

Highlights
  • Play against computer AI
  • Local head-to-head play
  • Online multiplayer
  • Online score comparison
  • Text chat with opponents
Features
Read full description

Patolli is one of the oldest games in the Americas, reportedly having been played by both the ancient Aztecs and the Mayans. Montezuma himself has been said to have played it. At the time of the Spanish Conquest, it was outlawed. The design is said to have close ties to ancient calendars as well has have religious meaning. -Play against the computer. -Play against friends or family head to head. (on one device) -Play others ONLINE, add/compare scores with other players. * -Text chat with your online opponents! * *For these features, your device must be connected to the internet

About

Fidchell

Experience an ancient Celtic board game with strategic piece capturing. Play against AI or human opponents offline or online, with two distinct game variants.

Highlights
  • Ancient Celtic board game
  • Piece trapping capture mechanic
  • Two game variants (basic and advanced)
  • Offline play vs AI or human
  • Asynchronous online multiplayer
  • Ad-free option via IAP
Features
Read full description

Fidchell, which is also called Faery Chess or Celtic Chess, is an ancient celtic game which was mentioned in multiple Irish epics and chronicles. Under the name of Gwyddbwyll it also appears in the Welsh Mabinogion and seems to have been held in peculiar reverence throughout the British Isles. Faery Chess is what emerged from Nigel Suckling's investigations and speculations about the lost game. The game is played an a board consisting of circles and lines on which the game pieces are placed and can move along. Similar to games like the ancient abstract board game Nine Men's Morris the pieces are first placed onto the board in turn and moved afterwards once all of them have been placed. The capturing of pieces works differently though and is alike to Tafl games: a piece gets captured if a player traps it between two of his own pieces. This even grants him another move with which he may trap another one and so on. The app features two variants of the game: the basic edition which is easier to understand and where both players are treated equally and the advanced version which has different goals for both players. The general goal is to connect the central Naval stone with the border of the board by forming a connected line of stones. This app features both game modes for offline play against a human or the computer/AI and asynchronous online play against humans. The app is ad supported. These ads can be permanently deactivated through an one-time In App Purchase (IAP).

Screenshots

Patolli4 screens
Fidchell2 screens

Verdict

The call

Patolli and Fidchell both sit at 4.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 80% of Fidchell's written reviews are positive against 43% of Patolli's. Fidchell also leads on monetization model (ad-supported vs free with in-app purchases). Patolli's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, 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. Patolli sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Fidchell 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for Patolli against 4.1 for Fidchell. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 7 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 43% of Patolli's written reviews are positive against 80% of Fidchell's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Patolli ships an update every 2 months, Fidchell every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Patolli versus Fidchell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPatolliFidchell
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (19 ratings)4.1 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews42.9% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings19 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB225 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperRandom5 LLCPhilippe Schober

Customer experience

Patolli

All ratings19 ratings
Positive73.7%
Neutral5.3%
Negative21.1%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative50.0%

Fidchell

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Patolli

One-time2
  • Gold Level$0.99
  • Gem Level$1.99
1 purchases

Fidchell

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is Patolli free?
Patolli is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fidchell free?
Fidchell is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Patolli or Fidchell?
Fidchell is rated higher. Patolli averages 4.0 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while Fidchell averages 4.1 from 7 ratings.
Do Patolli or Fidchell have ads?
Fidchell shows ads; Patolli does not.
Which is updated more often, Patolli or Fidchell?
Patolli ships an update every 2 months, and Fidchell every 3 months. Most recently, Patolli was updated on November 1, 2026 and Fidchell on November 3, 2026.

Other comparisons