Comparison

Realistic Chinese Checkers vs The Public Variable

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

Head to head
About

Realistic Chinese Checkers

Experience a classic board game with realistic crystal ball pieces. Choose between two engaging modes: Capture, featuring a strong AI for solo play or up to six players, or Free mode for a more casual, rule-free experience.

Highlights
  • Realistic crystal ball pieces
  • Capture mode with AI
  • Up to 6 player multiplayer
  • Free mode for casual play
  • Symmetric hexagonal board
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Realistic Chinese Checkers with unbelievable real crystal balls. There are 2 play modes: Capture and Free. Capture mode: You can play with Computer or up to 6 players. Computer player have very strong AI. Detail: All sixty game pieces start out in the hexagonal field in the center of the game board. The center position is left unoccupied, so pieces form a symmetric hexagonal pattern. Color is irrelevant in this variant, so players take turns hopping any game piece over any other eligible game piece(s) on the board. The hopped-over pieces are captured (retired from the game, as in American checkers) and collected in the capturing player's bin. The game ends when no further jumps are possible. The player with the most captured pieces is the winner. The board is tightly packed at the start of the game; as more pieces are captured, the board frees up, often allowing multiple captures to take place in a single move. Free mode: Just like a Chinese checkers board. No rule, no AI. You can play anyway you like.

About

The Public Variable

Experience a unique augmented reality theatre piece exploring perspective and communication. This evolving digital space will eventually host the full production, offering an immersive artistic experience accessible from anywhere.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality theatre
  • Perspective exploration
  • Immersive digital space
  • Evolving content
  • Accessible anywhere
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I'm building a feature length AR experience, scene by scene. A piece of theatre about perspective, and how we stopped hearing each other. And how we might fix it. And, through this platform, a piece of theatre you can experience wherever you are. This space will be updating and expanding until it eventually contains the entire piece, and more. Your support couldn't mean more than it would right now. publicvariabletheatre.org

Screenshots

Realistic Chinese Checkers4 screens
The Public Variable4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: The Public Variable at Free against Realistic Chinese Checkers's $6.00. The Public Variable also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.9) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Realistic Chinese Checkers's advantage is ratings volume (28 vs 2). On device support and iOS requirement 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

The Public Variable is free to download; Realistic Chinese Checkers costs $6.00 up front. Realistic Chinese Checkers sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. The Public Variable asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Public Variable holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Realistic Chinese Checkers has 28 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Realistic Chinese Checkers ships an update every 10 months, The Public Variable every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Realistic Chinese Checkers versus The Public Variable: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRealistic Chinese CheckersThe Public Variable
Price$6.00Free — better
Rating2.9 (28 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews22.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings28 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB1.4 GB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperOscar TsangJohn Sullivan

Customer experience

Realistic Chinese Checkers

All ratings28 ratings
Positive39.3%
Neutral17.9%
Negative42.9%
Written reviews58 reviews
Positive22.4%
Neutral5.2%
Negative72.4%

The Public Variable

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Realistic Chinese Checkers

One-time1
  • Remove advertisement$1.99
None

The Public Variable

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Realistic Chinese Checkers free?
Realistic Chinese Checkers costs $6.00, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is The Public Variable free?
The Public Variable is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Realistic Chinese Checkers or The Public Variable?
The Public Variable is rated higher. Realistic Chinese Checkers averages 2.9 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while The Public Variable averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Realistic Chinese Checkers or The Public Variable have ads?
Realistic Chinese Checkers shows ads; The Public Variable does not.
Which is updated more often, Realistic Chinese Checkers or The Public Variable?
Realistic Chinese Checkers ships an update every 10 months, and The Public Variable every 2 weeks. Most recently, Realistic Chinese Checkers was updated on November 8, 2026 and The Public Variable on November 4, 2026.

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