Comparison

Simple chess board vs Chess Royale

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

Head to head
About

Simple chess board

This app provides a digital chessboard with unrestricted piece movement and a configurable chess clock. Save and load board positions, undo/redo moves, and even use checker pieces. It's ideal for analyzing games or setting up custom scenarios.

Highlights
  • Free piece movement
  • Undo/Redo functionality
  • Board rotation
  • Checker piece option
  • Save/load positions
  • Configurable chess clock
  • Tweet current position
Features
Read full description

A simple chess board and a chess clock without movement restrictions. Free movement as a real board. Current features are: • Move pieces freely, add or remove them. • Undo/Redo last movement. • Rotate board and/or pieces. • Use checkers game pieces. • Save/load positions for later use, or delete them when you don't need them anymore (swipe over them). Starting positions for chess and checkers are available. • Use a chess clock where you can configure initial time, move time increment, increment after a number of movement, hourglass time, ... • Set time independent for black and white if required. • Save/load time settings for later use. Already available some common times. • Tweet your current position.

About

Chess Royale

Engage in the classic game of chess with millions worldwide. This app offers AI challenges, multiplayer matches, and extensive training tools including puzzles and post-game analysis to improve your strategic skills.

Highlights
  • Play against AI
  • Multiplayer matches
  • Chess puzzles
  • Post-game analysis
  • Beginner and advanced training
  • Multiple game modes
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

► THE ONLY CHESS APP YOU NEED Whether you’re a complete beginner or a highly experienced player, Chess Royale has everything you could need to enjoy one of the world’s greatest board games on your mobile device. Play with the AI, with friends, or with millions of strangers all over the world, then train your chess skills with tutorials, puzzles, and post-game analysis. One of the greatest things about chess is that there’s always something new to learn, and this beautifully designed app will allow you to keep on discovering the magic of chess and enhancing your love of the game day after day. ► WHY CHESS? ◾ With a history that stretches back over millennia, chess is both a vital cultural artefact and a beloved pastime that brings together millions of players all over the world. ◾ Renowned as a fierce test of the intellect, chess provides incredible training for your brain. Regularly playing chess and solving puzzles can train your strategic skills, develop logical and lateral thinking, help with learning and understanding psychology, improve your analysis and enhance your memory. ◾ It’s fun! Chess may be intimidating for beginners, but the more you learn and the better you understand the game, the more entertaining and rewarding it becomes. There’s some reason why it has remained among the most popular board games in the world for centuries, after all. ► WHY CHESS ROYALE? ◾ It pays to be popular: With over 50 000 000 players across all popular platforms, Chess Royale ensures there’s always a real opponent of similar skill online and ready to play in a variety of multiplayer formats. ◾ Endless variations: Not only can you challenge real players of different skill levels, you can also play in eight different modes. Play blitzes with varying time limitations, use the notifications system to play with friends when they’re online, test yourself in private against the game’s AI, and enter and arrange tournaments of various formats for more multiplayer fun. ◾ More than just a game: Chess Royale boasts more than 5000 chess puzzles to help you train specific aspects of your game. The app also features analysis tools that you can use post-match to help with your learning and development. And there is a trainer for beginners and more advanced players to get a better grasp of this intensely rich and complex game. Despite the wonders of modern technology, you’ll be hard pressed to find a mobile game that’s as challenging, enjoyable, and intellectually satisfying as chess. Whether you’re looking for just a new game to play online or a trainer to help you take the very first steps in exploring the magic of chess, Chess Royale offers something extra. Download the app now to discover the ultimate mobile chess environment. ►Vip Subscription: - You can subscribe to Vip membership to play without any ads, unlock all purchasable deck packs and play infinite puzzles every day. Also you can use infinite hints while solving chess puzzles - You are able to choose from three subscription options: a weekly subscription (free for the first 3 days) for $4.99 USD, a monthly subscription for $14.99 USD, an annual subscription for $79.99 USD - Subscription payments will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of your purchase and upon commencement of each renewal term. Subscription with a free trial period will automatically renew to a paid subscription. You can cancel your subscription or free trial in the iTunes settings at least 24-hours before the end of the free trial period. The cancellation will take effect the day after the last day of the current subscription period and you will be downgraded to the free service. - Please note that any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a premium subscription during the free trial period. - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase Privacy Policy: https://say.games/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://say.games/terms-of-use

Screenshots

Simple chess board4 screens
Chess Royale4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Chess Royale at every 5 weeks against Simple chess board's every 10 months. Chess Royale also leads on ratings volume (20K vs 68) and chart position (#190 vs unranked). Simple chess board's advantage is review sentiment (88% vs 60%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Simple chess board sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Chess Royale sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. 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 — 4.5 for Simple chess board against 4.5 for Chess Royale. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Royale has 20K ratings behind it against 68, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Simple chess board's written reviews are positive against 60% of Chess Royale's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple chess board ships an update every 10 months, Chess Royale every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Simple chess board versus Chess Royale: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple chess boardChess Royale
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (68 ratings)4.5 (20K ratings) — better
Positive reviews88.2% of reviews — better59.7% of reviews
Number of ratings6820K — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#190 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB473 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuis LopezSayGames LTD

Customer experience

Simple chess board

All ratings68 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral2.9%
Negative8.8%
Written reviews51 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral3.9%
Negative7.8%

Chess Royale

All ratings19,911 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral5.4%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews785 reviews
Positive59.7%
Neutral11.2%
Negative29.0%

User reviews

Simple chess board

From 68 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and straightforward
  • 👍 Great for study and practice
  • 👍 No restrictions or 'help' functions
  • 👍 Allows setting up custom positions
  • 👍 Useful for playing through games

Room to improve

  • 🤔 Pieces not bound by rules
  • 🤔 Graphics can be distracting/ugly
  • 🤔 Aggressive board colors
  • 🤔 Clocks take up screen space
  • 🤔 Pieces can shift unexpectedly

Chess Royale

From 20K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Enjoyable gameplay
  • 🚀 Seamless matchmaking
  • 💡 Helpful chess lessons and puzzles
  • 🤩 Great for learning and improving chess skills

Room to improve

  • 🤬 Excessive and disruptive advertisements
  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • 🕰️ Long wait times between games due to ads
  • 🤖 Suspicion of playing against bots instead of real players

Bugs and requests

Simple chess board

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Keyboard not appearing to enter text/save
  • Cannot figure out how to save position
  • Pieces shift on their own
  • Kings and queens on wrong squares initially
  • Save position fails with 'You must insert text' error
Show 2 more
  • App froze mid-game
  • Write a review tab has trouble

Requested features

20 requests
  • Add scoresheet functionality
  • Export game for analysis
  • Move counter
  • Portrait view on iPad
  • Board expansion to fill screen
Show 15 more
  • Ability to turn board around
  • More board color options
  • Option to hide timers
  • PGN save and import facility
  • PGN export
  • Chess notation feature
  • Larger board size (optional timers)
  • Change chess set for better viewing
  • Fix 'write a review' tab issue
  • Delete saved games/setups easily
  • Better graphics
  • More realistic piece movement enforcement
  • Improve piece dragging and selection
  • Make piece representations larger
  • Add variations

Chess Royale

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Incorrect puzzle solutions being marked as wrong
  • Game losses due to connection issues or app freezes
  • Inconsistent trophy/ranking system
  • Inability to report cheating or suspicious behavior

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to play longer timed games
  • Option to disable ads for a one-time fee
  • More advanced chess analysis and training features
  • Improved matchmaking to pair players of similar skill levels

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Simple chess board

One-time1
  • Remove ads$0.99
10 purchases

Chess Royale

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Vip3 Days trial2 variants$7.997 Days
  • Monthly Vip$19.991 Month
  • Annual Vip$39.991 Year
One-time7
  • Tiny Coins Pack$0.99
  • Tiny Gems Pack$1.99
  • Gold Reserve 2$2.99
Show 4 more
  • Coins Pack Offer$3.99
  • Disable Ads Forever$4.99
  • Medium Gems Pack$6.99
  • Large Gems Pack$19.99

Questions

Is Simple chess board free?
Simple chess board is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Royale free?
Chess Royale is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Simple chess board or Chess Royale?
Chess Royale is rated higher. Simple chess board averages 4.5 out of 5 from 68 ratings, while Chess Royale averages 4.5 from 20K ratings.
Do Simple chess board or Chess Royale have ads?
Both Simple chess board and Chess Royale show ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple chess board or Chess Royale?
Simple chess board ships an update every 10 months, and Chess Royale every 5 weeks. Most recently, Simple chess board was updated on October 16, 2026 and Chess Royale on October 22, 2026.

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