Chess Time vs Sternzy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Online correspondence chess
- Play with friends
- Global player matchmaking
- In-game chat
- Customizable chess sets and themes
- Auto-calculated ELO rating
- PGN export
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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
Sternzy
A relaxing block puzzle game where you drag shapes to fill rows and columns for points. Features unique diagonal clears, a daily challenge, and wildcard pieces. Play offline with no ads or paywalls.
- Drag and drop block puzzles
- Fill rows/columns to clear
- Diagonal clear mechanic
- Daily puzzle challenges
- Wildcard pieces
- Offline play
- Customizable appearance
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BlockDrop is a beautifully simple block puzzle game. Drag shapes from the tray onto the 8×8 board, fill rows or columns to clear them, and try to beat your high score. WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT • No ads. Ever. No banners, no pop-ups, no video interruptions. • No paywalls. The whole game is free to play — the only purchase is an optional tip if you'd like to support development. • Play offline. No account, no sign-up, no internet required. • Pick up where you left off. Take a call or close the app mid-game and your board, score, and even your undo history are saved. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT • Diagonal clears. Fill a full corner-to-corner diagonal to clear it — a twist most block games don't have. • A new Daily Puzzle. The same board for everyone, every day — climb the daily leaderboard. • The Beetle Hunt. A hidden beetle scurries across the daily board — box it in to earn bonus swaps and a confetti payoff. • Wildcard pieces. Stuck? Earn a "?" piece and turn it into any shape you want. • Challenge a friend. Share a seed code and your friend plays your exact piece sequence — then compare scores. • Undo. Made a mistake? Take it back — most block puzzles won't let you. • Rotate pieces. Spin blocks to slot them into tight spots. • Free shuffles. Earn shuffles as you score to swap out an awkward tray. MAKE IT YOURS • Customize the grid cell colors and opacity to match your style. • Sound and haptics you control. COMPETE • Game Center leaderboards for regular play, the daily puzzle, and efficiency (points per move). • Daily "king of the hill" rewards for holding the top spot. Whether you've got two minutes or twenty, BlockDrop is the calm, ad-free block puzzle that's always ready when you are. Download free and start clearing.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Sternzy at none against Chess Time's shown. Sternzy also leads on monetization model (free vs freemium) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Chess Time's advantage is ratings volume (1.7K vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Chess Time sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Sternzy sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Sternzy 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 1, 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 Sternzy's.
Chess Time ships an update every 10 days, Sternzy weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess Time | Sternzy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.7K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 86.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.7K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Haptic Apps LLC | David Stern |
Customer experience
Chess Time
Sternzy
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
Sternzy
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chess Time
- Chess Time Premium$1.991 Month
- Chess Time Premium - Annual$17.991 Year
- IOS Chess Time Pro$4.99
Sternzy
- Diner Coffee$0.99
- Café Cappuccino$1.99
- Artisan Pour-Over$4.99
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- Fancy Bistro Latte$9.99









