Chess & Variants vs Mini Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess & Variants
Explore a vast collection of chess variations beyond the classic game. Play against AI offline or challenge real players online with features like saved games and leaderboards.
- 45 chess variations
- Play against AI offline
- Online multiplayer
- Create/join tables
- Invite friends
- Full rules description
- Replay saved games
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* Open up your Chess horizon * Jocly's Chess Variants is by far the most complete mobile application for playing Chess variations. In addition to regular Chess, it offers 45 variants, all of them featuring: - artificial intelligence to play alone / offline - server connectivity to play real people, create or join tables, invite friends - full rules description - live games are saved and can be replayed - ELO based leaderboard - and many more ... Supported variants: - Classic Chess - XiangQi (Chinese Chess) - Gardner Chess - MiniChess4x4 - MiniChess4x5 - MicroChess - Baby Chess - Malett Chess - Los Alamos - Chess Attack - Courier (Middle-Age Chess) - Makruk (Thai Chess) - Shako (10x10 board with elephants and cannons) - Shatranj - Raumschach (5x5x5) - Glinski Chess (hexagonal) - Brusky Chess (hexagonal) - DeVasa Chess (hexagonal) - McCooey Chess (hexagonal) - Shafran (hexagonal) - Modern circular Chess (on a round board) - Byzantine Chess (on a round board, as played in the Xth century) - 3D Chess (6x8x3) - Cylinder Chess - RollerBall (Chess on an unusual board) - Chess960 (randomized start position) - Metamachy (big board) - Capablanca Chess - Carrera Chess - Gothic Chess - Janus Chess - Grand Chess - Modern Chess - Chancellor Chess - Wildebeest Chess - Smess (give it a try) - Demi Chess (half a regular board) - Romanchenko Chess - Amazon Chess - Duke of Rutland Chess - Gustav III Chess - Hyderabad Chess - Kaiser Chess - SultanGame Chess - Reformed Courier Chess - Tutti-Frutti Chess
Mini Chess
Enjoy a simplified, faster version of chess on your mobile device. Play against AI or a friend on a smaller board with fewer pieces. Ideal for beginners and quick matches.
- Simplified 6x6 chessboard
- Fewer pieces (no knights/bishops)
- Play against 3 AI levels
- Local multiplayer mode
- Quick matches
- Beginner-friendly
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The traditional game of chess made easier and quicker, perfect for iPhone and iPad. Download it now for free and start play in just 1 tap! Mini Chess is a modern simplified version of classic chess, perfect for playing on your phone and tablet, on your own, with 3 level of Artificial Intelligence, or with a friend on the same device (multiplayer). Play on a smaller chessboard (6x6), with less pieces (no knights and bishops) and have fun on more speedy matches than classic chess. Play straight away, with friends, online or solo, and every match takes just minutes. Mini Chess is also perfect for kids to start play the all-time-favourite classic board game. Kids and beginners will find it so easy to learn and to enjoy in just 1 tap and experts will love the new challenge of playing in a different setting. Thanks for playing!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Chess & Variants at none against Mini Chess's shown. Chess & Variants also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 13.0). Mini Chess's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.1) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 17 months). On price, 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 & Variants sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Mini Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Mini Chess holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mini Chess has 345 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Chess & Variants's written reviews are positive against 83% of Mini Chess's.
Chess & Variants ships an update every 17 months, Mini Chess every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess & Variants | Mini Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (14 ratings) | 4.6 (345 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 55.6% of reviews | 82.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14 | 345 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 17 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 6.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ACLAP | OutOfTheBit Ltd |
Customer experience
Chess & Variants
Mini Chess
Bugs and requests
Chess & Variants
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Mini Chess
Reported bugs
5 issues- Checkmate declared incorrectly with viable moves available
- Queen positioned on wrong color
- AI allows illegal moves to prevent player from winning
- Stalemate not handled correctly
- Perpetual check rules unfairly favor opponent
Requested features
10 requests- Add Knights and Bishops to piece options
- Alternative piece combinations (2 Rooks + 2 Bishops)
- Randomized starting positions
- Landscape mode for iPad
- Random color assignment (white/black alternation)
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- Ability to play full traditional chess
- Create custom board feature
- Extremely hard difficulty level
- Physical board version
- Draw by repetition after 3 moves
In-app purchases
Chess & Variants
- Remove ads$0.99
Mini Chess
- Remove Ads$1.99
Questions
Is Chess & Variants free?
Is Mini Chess free?
Which has better reviews, Chess & Variants or Mini Chess?
Do Chess & Variants or Mini Chess have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess & Variants or Mini Chess?
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