Comparison

Chess Set vs Heretic Chess

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

Head to head
About

Chess Set

Features
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Just a chess board and pieces.

About

Heretic Chess

Features
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Chess, but you build your own army. Start with normal pieces. Lose. Earn coins. Buy modifier cards that give your pieces new movement abilities - a Rook that leaps like a Knight becomes a Chancellor. A Bishop that slides like a Rook becomes a Queen. Stack enough upgrades and your pieces become monsters the AI never saw coming. PLAY → EARN → UPGRADE → RETRY Every game earns currency, win or lose. Losing is part of the plan. Spend coins on modifier cards between games, equip them on up to 5 pieces, and go again with a stronger army. The loop is addictive. The power fantasy is real. 10 MODIFIER CARDS • +Knight - give any piece the Knight's L-shaped leap • +Bishop - add diagonal sliding to a Rook or Knight • +Rook - add straight-line power to a Bishop or Knight • +Camel - the Knight's weird cousin: a (3,1) leap • +Knight & Bishop - create an Archbishop • +Knight & Rook - create a Chancellor • +Rook & Bishop - create a Queen from scratch • And more. Stack them. Break things. FAIRY CHESS PIECES Chancellor. Archbishop. Amazon. Centaur. Names you've seen on Wikipedia at 2am. Now they're in your army, doing absurd things on an 8Ɨ8 board. Every upgrade is a real fairy chess piece with movement rules that have existed for centuries, we just put them in your hands. NO ADS. NO WAIT TIMERS. NO ENERGY SYSTEM. Play as much as you want. Progress is real. Every coin you earn stays. Every card you buy is permanent on your save slot. Built with a custom fairy chess engine. Runs entirely on-device. No internet required.

Screenshots

Chess Set1 screens
Heretic Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chess Set at none against Heretic Chess's 1. Chess Set also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). Heretic Chess's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Heretic Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Chess Set asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess Set ships an update fortnightly, Heretic Chess weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
Chess Set versus Heretic Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChess SetHeretic Chess
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLee CooperFatma Esra Ugurca

In-app purchases

None

Chess Set

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Heretic Chess

One-time1
  • Supporter Pack$4.99

Questions

Is Chess Set free?
Chess Set is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Heretic Chess free?
Heretic Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Chess Set or Heretic Chess have ads?
Neither Chess Set nor Heretic Chess shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chess Set or Heretic Chess?
Chess Set ships an update fortnightly, and Heretic Chess weekly. Most recently, Chess Set was updated on October 3, 2026 and Heretic Chess on October 7, 2026.

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