Comparison

ChessCraft vs Beyond Chess D20

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

Head to head
About

ChessCraft

Explore a chess sandbox where you can customize boards, rules, and pieces. Create unique chess variants, play against an AI, or challenge friends online. Discover and share your custom chess creations with a global community.

Highlights
  • Customizable chess boards and pieces
  • AI computer opponent
  • Online multiplayer with friends
  • Adventure mode with built-in boards
  • Chess variant database
  • Create new pieces and tile rules
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Never play the same game of chess again! ChessCraft is a chess sandbox with an AI computer opponent. Customize chess boards, rules, and pieces. Share your creations online. Play your friends online, or play the computer, or choose from one of 75 built-in chess boards in adventure mode. ChessCraft is also the world's largest chess variant database. https://www.chesscraft.ca Many chess AI mobile games already exist, but only ChessCraft allows the player to create such wacky boards and pieces and immediately play a decent computer opponent. Create new pieces with any combination of the 8 bishop or rook slides, plus a 7x7 grid of knight-like hops. Pieces can also enhance or restrict nearby pieces. Create new boards with any enabled or disabled tile up to 16x16. Place promotion rules for any piece, anywhere. Place tile rules like witch windows (teleporters), sanctuaries, and more. The computer AI opponent then uses concepts from computer science and graph theory to understand your creations and play against you. When you share a board, your friends can play the AI too. Sharing creates a new web page just for you, like this: https://www.chesscraft.ca/design?id=shape-variant1 Visit the website and send me an email if you have any feedback or questions. If you like the game, please rate it!

About

Beyond Chess D20

Features
Read full description

Beyond Chess is a strategy game that takes the core of chess and adds one missing ingredient: uncertainty. Choose how you want to play: CLASSIC MODE Pure chess. Deterministic captures. No randomness. STATISTICAL MODE Captures are resolved by probability. Each piece has a fixed chance to capture other pieces, sometimes you win, sometimes you bounce back. No victory is guaranteed. RPG DICE MODE (D20) Every capture attempt rolls a d20: • 1: Critical fail — your piece self-destructs • 2–5: Capture fails — your piece stays in its original square • 6–19: Normal capture • 20: Wololo conversion — the target piece turns to your color while your piece stays in place ONLINE PvP Play online matches in public or private rooms, choose a nickname and jump in. (Online play requires an internet connection.) If you enjoy chess, tabletop RNG, and tactical risk management, Beyond Chess is built for you.

Screenshots

ChessCraft4 screens
Beyond Chess D204 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Beyond Chess D20 at monthly against ChessCraft's every 9 months. ChessCraft's advantage is price ($5.99 vs $9.99) and chart position (#88 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

ChessCraft costs $5.99 and Beyond Chess D20 $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChessCraft ships an update every 9 months, Beyond Chess D20 monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
ChessCraft versus Beyond Chess D20: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessCraftBeyond Chess D20
Price$5.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.3 (8 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#88 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size166 MB187 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStuart SpenceOMER GULERYUZ

In-app purchases

None

ChessCraft

No in-app purchases

None

Beyond Chess D20

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ChessCraft free?
ChessCraft costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Beyond Chess D20 free?
Beyond Chess D20 costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do ChessCraft or Beyond Chess D20 have ads?
Neither ChessCraft nor Beyond Chess D20 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChessCraft or Beyond Chess D20?
ChessCraft ships an update every 9 months, and Beyond Chess D20 monthly. Most recently, ChessCraft was updated on October 11, 2026 and Beyond Chess D20 on October 9, 2026.

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