Starchess vs Conway's Cells
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Starchess
Experience chess with a unique twist on a three-dimensional board. Pieces gain new movement capabilities, allowing for strategic plays in up, down, and diagonal directions. Enjoy a fresh challenge to your chess skills.
- Three-dimensional chess board
- Traditional chess rules
- Expanded piece movement (up, down, diagonal)
- Unique strategic gameplay
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Starchess has all of the same rules as traditional chess but now on a three-dimensional board. Pieces can move up, down and diagonally.
Conway's Cells
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Discover the beauty of cellular automata with Conway's Cells, a polished and powerful implementation of Conway's Game of Life for iOS. WHAT IS THE GAME OF LIFE? Conway's Game of Life is a zero-player game where cells on a grid live, die, or multiply based on simple rules. Despite its simplicity, it produces astonishingly complex behavior — gliders that travel across the screen, oscillators that pulse rhythmically, and structures that generate infinite streams of spaceships. TAP, DRAW, AND EXPLORE • Tap individual cells to toggle them alive or dead • Use drawing tools (line, rectangle, circle) to sketch structures quickly • Stamp pre-built patterns onto the grid with a ghost preview before placement • Zoom in to see every cell, pan across large grids MANY CLASSIC PATTERNS Browse a curated library of famous Game of Life patterns: • Still Lifes: Block, Beehive, Loaf, Boat, Ship, Pond • Oscillators: Blinker, Toad, Pulsar, Pentadecathlon • Spaceships: Glider, LWSS, HWSS, Copperhead • Guns: Gosper Glider Gun, Simkin Glider Gun • Methuselahs: R-pentomino, Acorn, Diehard • Save your own creations to the pattern library CUSTOMIZABLE THEMES Personalize with 11 visual themes — Classic, Blueprint, Matrix, Cyberpunk, Laser, Ocean, Forest, Sunset, Terminal, Pixel, Gameboy. Unlock additional themes with a one-time purchase. 3D VISUALIZATION See the Game of Life like never before. Switch to a 3D torus, cylinder, or sphere topology. Watch patterns wrap around edges in real time. FULL CONTROL • Adjustable simulation speed from 1 to 60 generations per second • Step through generations one at a time • Generation counter and population graph • Undo and redo support • Auto-save your session — pick up right where you left off Conway's Cells is free with optional in-app purchases to remove ads and unlock Pro features.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Starchess at none against Conway's Cells's 3. Starchess also leads on ads (none vs shown) and device support (4 vs 2). Conway's Cells's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months). On price 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. Conway's Cells sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Starchess asks for nothing beyond the download.
Starchess ships an update every 4 months, Conway's Cells monthly. The most recent releases landed on June 4, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Starchess | Conway's Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 60 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nathan Lane | Andrey Tyurin |
In-app purchases
Starchess
No in-app purchases
Conway's Cells
- Remove Ads$1.99
- Pro Upgrade$3.99
- Unlock Everything$7.99
Questions
Is Starchess free?
Is Conway's Cells free?
Do Starchess or Conway's Cells have ads?
Which is updated more often, Starchess or Conway's Cells?
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