Comparison

Starchess vs Conway's Cells

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Three-dimensional chess board
  • Traditional chess rules
  • Expanded piece movement (up, down, diagonal)
  • Unique strategic gameplay
Read full description

Starchess has all of the same rules as traditional chess but now on a three-dimensional board. Pieces can move up, down and diagonally.

About

Conway's Cells

Features
Read full description

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

Starchess4 screens
Conway's Cells4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Conway's Cells sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Starchess asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Starchess versus Conway's Cells: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarchessConway's Cells
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNathan LaneAndrey Tyurin

In-app purchases

None

Starchess

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Conway's Cells

One-time3
  • Remove Ads$1.99
  • Pro Upgrade$3.99
  • Unlock Everything$7.99

Questions

Is Starchess free?
Starchess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Conway's Cells free?
Conway's Cells is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Starchess or Conway's Cells have ads?
Conway's Cells shows ads; Starchess does not.
Which is updated more often, Starchess or Conway's Cells?
Starchess ships an update every 4 months, and Conway's Cells monthly. Most recently, Starchess was updated on June 4, 2026 and Conway's Cells on September 10, 2026.

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