Comparison

Chess Time vs Brain Swaggle

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

Head to head
About

Chess Time

Engage in online chess matches with friends or players worldwide. This app supports correspondence play with extended move times and offers features like in-game chat and customizable themes. Track your progress with an auto-calculated ELO rating.

Highlights
  • Online correspondence chess
  • Play with friends
  • Global player matchmaking
  • In-game chat
  • Customizable chess sets and themes
  • Auto-calculated ELO rating
  • PGN export
Read full description

Free online chess - Invite your friends or play against anyone in the world. Chess Time is a full featured online correspondence chess app allowing a player up to multiple days to make a move. Create and play multiple at length chess games. Chess Time features: A global audience of real chess players. Invite friends to play online games. In-game chat. -- Play chess against friends that have other mobile devices. Multiple Chess sets and themes. Play un-rated games to train without affecting your score. -- Auto-calculated ELO chess rating. Export completed games as PGN. Chess Time will send a notification for each move and a reminder for you to move. We recommend enabling notifications. ——————————— -- SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE --- PREMIUM Membership Subscription Options: - Monthly Premium Subscription - Yearly Premium Subscription Premium Membership features: * No Ads * 75 Simultaneous Active Games — Additional 25! * Compete with Premium Members * Exclusive Premium Leaderboard * Daily PGN Emails — Completed game PGNs are emailed daily! Perfect for players studying their games. — TERMS & DETAILS — Chess Time Premium features are only guaranteed on up-to-date iOS devices. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged the same amount for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a Free Trial, if offered, is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Prices may vary by location. Terms of Use: http://chesstimeapp.com/Terms-and-Conditions.php Privacy Policy: http://chesstimeapp.com/Privacy-Policy.php

About

Brain Swaggle

Engage in a competitive word-building game that sharpens spelling, memory, and strategic thinking. Players take turns constructing words against the computer, aiming for high scores by meeting minimum letter counts and outmaneuvering opponents. Experience a blend of education and fast-paced fun.

Highlights
  • Strategic word-building turns
  • Customizable match lengths
  • Adjustable minimum letter counts
  • Variable turn timers
  • Point-based scoring system
  • Computer opponent battles
Read full description

Brain Swaggle is an engaging and competitive word-building game designed to sharpen spelling skills, memory, and strategic thinking. Players face off against the computer in a turn-based battle to construct valid words, one letter at a time, while aiming to outmaneuver their opponent by hitting or surpassing the minimum letter count for maximum points. With dynamic gameplay and time pressure, Brain Swaggle blends education with fast-paced fun. Key Highlights Strategic Word-Building: Players and the computer take turns adding letters to form words, to end the word on or after the minimum required letters to score points. Customizable Matches: Choose match lengths (3, 5, or 10 words), set minimum letter counts (3–9 letters), and adjust turn timers (15–60 seconds). Scoring & Challenges: 1. Earn 100 points for each minimum number of letters and 200 points for each letter past the minimum number of letters. 2. If time runs out on your turn, the computer gets 500 points 3. If the user misspells a word, the computer gets 500 points 4. Points are tallied at the top; it will show you how many points the user has and how many words the user has won in this match Getting Started with Brain Swaggle is Simple: • Register using a valid email address • Create a secure password to set up your account • Tap "Play" on the game start screen to begin • Customize your game settings to suit your style • Start your match and begin building words!

Screenshots

Chess Time4 screens
Brain Swaggle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Brain Swaggle at none against Chess Time's shown. Brain Swaggle also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 86%). Chess Time's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (1.7K vs 5). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Chess Time sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Brain Swaggle sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Brain Swaggle holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Time has 1.7K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of Chess Time's written reviews are positive against 100% of Brain Swaggle's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Time ships an update every 10 days, Brain Swaggle every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Chess Time versus Brain Swaggle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess TimeBrain Swaggle
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.7K ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.7K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB53 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperHaptic Apps LLCGary Downing

Customer experience

Chess Time

All ratings1,659 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral1.9%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews260 reviews
Positive86.2%
Neutral5.4%
Negative8.5%

Brain Swaggle

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Chess Time

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game incorrectly declaring draws on checkmate
  • Inability to castle or move pieces in certain situations
  • Notification issues across different devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to invite friends to watch ongoing games
  • Option to disable move analysis for rated games
  • Faster move processing and real-time gameplay
  • More diverse chess piece and board designs
  • In-app purchase to remove ads permanently

Brain Swaggle

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Chess Time

Subscriptions2
  • Chess Time Premium$1.991 Month
  • Chess Time Premium - Annual$17.991 Year
One-time1
  • IOS Chess Time Pro$4.99
3 purchases

Brain Swaggle

One-time3
  • Remove Ads$0.99
  • Power Ups$1.49
  • Power Ups$2.49

Questions

Is Chess Time free?
Chess Time is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Brain Swaggle free?
Brain Swaggle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chess Time or Brain Swaggle?
Brain Swaggle is rated higher. Chess Time averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while Brain Swaggle averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Chess Time or Brain Swaggle have ads?
Chess Time shows ads; Brain Swaggle does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess Time or Brain Swaggle?
Chess Time ships an update every 10 days, and Brain Swaggle every 2 months. Most recently, Chess Time was updated on September 28, 2026 and Brain Swaggle on September 7, 2026.

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