Board Brain vs Heatmap Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Board Brain
This app helps chess players of all levels enhance their skills through interactive games and exercises. It focuses on mastering chessboard coordinates, understanding piece movements, and recognizing square colors to improve overall game vision.
- Interactive games
- Skill-building exercises
- Chessboard coordinate mastery
- Piece movement understanding
- Square color recognition
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BoardBrain is designed to help both novice and experienced chess players improve their skills. It offers interactive games and exercises that focus on mastering chessboard coordinates, understanding piece movements, and recognizing square colors.
Heatmap Chess
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Heatmap.Chess teaches you to read a chess board the way grandmasters do — as a map of control, not a list of pieces. EVERY NUMBER IS A THREAT Each square shows how many pieces want to attack it. A "3" means three pieces are converging on that square. Drop your dock pieces in the right places, and every correct placement cools the heat by one. Get all numbers to zero — puzzle solved. WHAT'S INSIDE • Hand-crafted themed rooms with graduated difficulty • Fresh daily puzzles — keep your streak alive • Heart system + combo bonuses • Cross-device sync — pick up where you left off • Quiet, focused dark UI built for one hand • One-time purchase removes ads + unlocks every room SHARPEN YOUR CHESS VISION No openings to memorize, no notation to decode. You start seeing what grandmasters see when they sit down at a board — the geometry of attacks. A training tool for beginners and experienced players alike. DESIGNED FOR FOCUS No social feeds. No leaderboards screaming at you. Just numbers, pieces, and the small satisfaction of every count dropping to zero.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Board Brain at none against Heatmap Chess's 1. Board Brain also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months). Heatmap Chess's advantage is iOS requirement (13.4 vs 15.0). On price 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
Both are free to download. Heatmap Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Board Brain asks for nothing beyond the download.
Board Brain ships an update every 6 days, Heatmap Chess every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Board Brain | Heatmap Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Selvarajan Thangavel | Utku Kucu |
In-app purchases
Board Brain
No in-app purchases
Heatmap Chess
- Unlock Everything$4.99
Questions
Is Board Brain free?
Is Heatmap Chess free?
Do Board Brain or Heatmap Chess have ads?
Which is updated more often, Board Brain or Heatmap Chess?
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