Comparison

Hex for iPad vs ChessTimer

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

Head to head
About

Hex for iPad

A classic abstract strategy board game played on a hexagonal grid. Players aim to connect opposite sides of the board with their colored stones before their opponent does. Features include undo functionality and a clear turn indicator.

Highlights
  • Hexagonal grid gameplay
  • Connect opposite sides
  • Turn-based strategy
  • Undo last move
  • Clear turn indicator
Features
Read full description

Hex is a strategy board game played on a hexagonal grid, theoretically of any size and several possible shapes, but traditionally as an 11×11 rhombus. Other popular dimensions are 13×13 and 19×19 as a result of the game's relationship to the older game of Go. According to the book A Beautiful Mind, John Nash (one of the game's inventors) advocated 14×14 as the optimal size. History The game was invented by the Danish mathematician Piet Hein, who introduced it in 1942 at the Niels Bohr Institute. It was independently re-invented in 1947 by the mathematician John Nash at Princeton University. Hex is an abstract strategy game that belongs to the general category of "connection" games. Rules Each player has an allocated color, Red and Blue being conventional. Players take turns placing a stone of their color on a single cell within the overall playing board. The goal is to form a connected path of your stones linking the opposing sides of the board marked by your color, before your opponent connects his or her sides in a similar fashion. The first player to complete his or her connection wins the game. The four corner hexagons each belong to both adjacent sides. The turn of each player is shown by a red or blue disc on a side of the board game. The player must touch a cell to fill it with his own color. After that, he can cancel his last move using the 'Undo' button, and redo a different move. When the move is done, the turn comes of the opponent player. John Nash proved in 1952 that a game of Hex cannot end in a tie, and that for a symmetric board there exists a winning strategy for the player who makes the first move (by the strategy-stealing argument). However, the argument is non-constructive: it only shows the existence of a winning strategy, without describing it explicitly. Finding an explicit strategy has been the main subject of research since then.

About

ChessTimer

Features
Read full description

ChessTimer is the chess clock built to outclass the rest. It's free, with no ads, no account and no tracking; an optional theme pack adds 96 more themes. EVERY TIME CONTROL, DONE RIGHT • Fischer increment, Bronstein delay, simple (US) delay, or sudden death • Multi-stage tournament controls (e.g. 40 moves in 90 min, then 30 min, +30s) • Per-side handicap: give each player a different clock ONE TAP TO PLAY • Bullet, Blitz, Rapid and Classical presets ready to go • Build any custom cadence and save your favorites MADE TO LIVE ON YOUR TABLE • Oversized, glanceable digits • Sound + haptic feedback on every move and a flag alert • Screen stays awake during a game; auto-pauses when interrupted • 22 free themes in four collections (classic, meme, illustrated and photo), many with their own artwork, sounds and ambient effects • Zen photo themes (lagoon, mountains, forest, aurora) and an optional analog dial face • Pick your style in a swipeable theme gallery on first launch • High-contrast colorblind-friendly theme included OPTIONAL THEME PACK • 96 extra themes, one-time purchase, no subscription WORKS FOR MORE THAN CHESS Go, shogi, debate, or any two-player turn-based game. FREE & PRIVATE No ads. No accounts. No tracking. The clock works fully offline. MORE CHESS APPS BY THE SAME MAKER ChessEndings for endgames, ChessAtlas for openings, DarkSquares for blindfold chess and ChessTactics for tactics puzzles. All four are a tap away in Settings.

Screenshots

ChessTimer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ChessTimer at Free against Hex for iPad's $0.99. ChessTimer also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 38 months) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.6). Hex for iPad's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ChessTimer is free to download; Hex for iPad costs $0.99 up front. ChessTimer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Hex for iPad asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hex for iPad ships an update every 38 months, ChessTimer every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Hex for iPad versus ChessTimer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHex for iPadChessTimer
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating3.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 38 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB51 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuigi FontiAntoine Tamano

In-app purchases

None

Hex for iPad

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

ChessTimer

One-time1
  • Premium Theme Pack$8.99

Questions

Is Hex for iPad free?
Hex for iPad costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ChessTimer free?
ChessTimer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Hex for iPad or ChessTimer have ads?
Neither Hex for iPad nor ChessTimer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hex for iPad or ChessTimer?
Hex for iPad ships an update every 38 months, and ChessTimer every 2 months. Most recently, Hex for iPad was updated on October 16, 2026 and ChessTimer on October 20, 2026.

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