Sidius Nova vs Almost Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sidius Nova
Lead your species to survival after a homeworld destruction. Collect resources, build ships, and engage in epic space battles. Choose to play as humans or an alien armada, unlocking new ships and strategies as you conquer galaxies.
- Resource collection
- Ship building
- Epic space battles
- Playable factions (humans/aliens)
- Unlockable ships
- Galactic conquest
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by Stefan Schmitt and Ben Jelter -YOUR HOMEWORLD HAS BEEN DESTROYED- Your remaining motherships are the only way to guarantee the survival of your species. Collect resources to build ships for epic space battles. "has the same 'one more turn oh god one more turn' hook that its grander siblings on the PC have" -KOTAKU Also featured on Space Sector! HOURS OF STRATEGIC DEEP SPACE GAMEPLAY Sidius Nova is a strategy game designed from the ground up to provide a deep and satisfying experience on your iOS device. PICK A SIDE Play as the last humans alive or an alien armada. UNLOCKABLE SHIPS Earn new ships as you play! Conquer entire galaxies and expand your fleet by researching new units. New units dramatically expand the gameplay by offering new defensive and offensive strategies. Follow @sidiusnova on twitter to find out more and give us feedback!
Almost Chess
Experience chess with a twist! This game features randomized starting positions, challenging AI opponents, and unique game modes like daily and weekly challenges. Customize your board and track your progress with detailed statistics.
- Randomized starting board positions
- AI opponents based on rating
- Daily and weekly challenges
- Gauntlet mode with escalating difficulty
- Customizable board themes
- Statistics and achievements tracking
- Multiple language options
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A familiar game. An unfamiliar board. Almost Chess is a chess variant with randomized starting positions, so you can focus on the position in front of you instead of memorized openings. PLAY YOUR NEXT MOVE Face AI opponents selected for your in-game rating. Tap a piece to see its legal moves, find tactical opportunities and work toward checkmate. Your rating tracks progress inside Almost Chess; it is not an official chess rating. A NEW CHALLENGE TO RETURN TO Try the daily challenge with three attempts per day. Weekly challenges rotate board restrictions for a different way to play. In the Gauntlet, each win brings a stronger opponent; a loss ends your run. Gauntlet games do not allow undo. MAKE THE BOARD YOURS Explore random boards with no queens, mirrored positions, pawns or extra chaos. Choose from 12 board themes and track your statistics and achievements. LANGUAGE OPTIONS Play in English, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese. Follow your device language or choose a language in Settings. ADS AND OPTIONAL PURCHASE Full-screen ads may appear between completed games. Eligible single-player games start with one free undo; you can choose to watch a rewarded ad for one more undo when an ad is available. The optional one-time Remove Ads purchase removes ads and gives unlimited undos in eligible single-player games. It does not add undo to the Gauntlet.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sidius Nova at 84% against Almost Chess's 33%. Almost Chess's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Sidius Nova sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Almost Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Sidius Nova ships an update every 3 months, Almost Chess fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sidius Nova | Almost Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (49 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 84.3% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 49 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 190 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Stefan Schmitt | hourafter |
Customer experience
Sidius Nova
Almost Chess
Bugs and requests
Sidius Nova
Reported bugs
5 issues- Occasional crashing
- Repeated crashing during combat
- Crashing when fighting mothership
- Game progress not syncing between devices
- App leaves residual files after uninstallation
Requested features
16 requests- Add multiplayer/hot seat/skirmish
- Add longer single player campaign
- Add more frequent dialogue
- Add meaningful player-driven plot choices
- Add 'back' button for dialogue
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- Option to skip mothership death animation
- Rework research point system
- Add bonus for multiple fleets
- Improve mothership strength/abilities
- Add iPad version/support
- Add iPhone 5 screen support
- Add Game Center support
- Add cloud saving system
- Add endless mode
- Add asynchronous multiplayer
- Add fast forward button
Almost Chess
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sidius Nova
- Genius (RP earned x2)$0.99
- Laboratory (8,000 RP)$1.99
- Singularity (Unlock Everything)$3.99
Almost Chess
- Remove Ads$2.99
Questions
Is Sidius Nova free?
Is Almost Chess free?
Do Sidius Nova or Almost Chess have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sidius Nova or Almost Chess?
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