TriLevelChess vs Ember
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
TriLevelChess
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EXPERIENCE CHESS IN THREE DIMENSIONS Tri Level Chess reimagines the classic game with a revolutionary vertical twist. Play on three stacked boards where pieces can move up and down between levels, creating entirely new tactical possibilities and strategic depth. MASTER VERTICAL STRATEGY - Move pieces across three parallel chess boards - Rooks ascend and descend vertically like elevators - Knights leap between levels with devastating effect - Bishops cut diagonal paths through multiple planes - Every piece gains new attacking angles and escape routes MANY EXCITING VARIANTS Classic 3D Chess Experience traditional chess rules across three dimensions. Perfect for learning the vertical strategy fundamentals. Chess960 (Fischer Random) Randomized starting positions on three levels create 960 unique opening configurations. No memorized openingsโjust pure strategy. Atomic Chess Captures trigger explosive chain reactions! When pieces capture, both attacker and captured piece (plus adjacent non-pawns) vanish in a blast. Kings can never capture. Aggressive tactics meet calculated risk. Crazyhouse Captured pieces join your hand and can be dropped back onto any level! Place opponent's pieces as your own for wild tactical combinations across all three boards. Looming Extinction Your chess world is shrinking. Can you prevail before there are not moves left? Frontier Chess Your chess world is about to expand! King of the Hill Move your king to the center area for a quick win! PLAY YOUR WAY - Challenge the AI with three difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, Hard) - Play locally against friends with pass-and-play - Compete asynchronously via Remote Play - share moves through messages or email - Set up custom positions and puzzles - Choose starting levels: both on the same board, or split between top and bottom POWERFUL FEATURES - See valid moves highlighted across all three levels - Inspect enemy piece threats with long-press - Full undo/redo navigation through game history - Complete move log tracking - Material advantage calculator - Optional chess clock with customizable time controls - Save and load multiple games - Share positions with friends - Export games for analysis - Setup positions and share with friends THOUGHTFUL DESIGN - Clean, intuitive interface designed for iPad and iPhone - Smooth piece dragging with haptic feedback - Zoom and pan for detailed board inspection - Portrait and landscape support - No ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchases - Buy once, play forever PERFECT FOR - Chess players seeking new challenges beyond 2D - Strategy game enthusiasts who love deep tactical puzzles - Puzzle creators exploring three-dimensional tactics - Friends looking for a unique competitive experience - Anyone curious about chess with a vertical dimension THREE BOARDS. INFINITE POSSIBILITIES. Download Tri Level Chess and discover a whole new dimension of strategy.
Ember
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Ember is an abstract strategy board game where every player picks a spot at the same time. Players score by controlling territory on the board. HOW IT WORKS Each turn, every player picks an open spot. All picks are revealed together. Spots you control add pressure to the eight spots around them. When enough pressure builds on an open spot, you gain control of it. Pressure only spreads a limited distance from the spots you place. A spot outside that range stays under your control but does not add more pressure. If two or more players pick the same spot, Static controls it instead. Static uses the same pressure rules as everyone else, but it cannot win. WAYS TO PLAY Play against the computer at three AI difficulty levels: Halo (Novice), Vega (Skilled), and Titan (Expert). Play online with a friend by sharing a link. Play ranked online multiplayer with 2, 3, or 4 players. Ranked results affect your Elo rating and your place on the leaderboard. Solve puzzles that use the same pressure rules as regular games. Watch live games. BOARD TYPES Every board is a 16x16 grid. Open has no walls or special scoring. Walls has fixed spots that no player can control. Zones gives each player a scoring map only they can see. Every spot you control is worth 1 point. A spot inside one of your zones is worth 3 points. Ember is free and has no ads or in-app purchases. You only need an account for ranked games.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Ember at Free against TriLevelChess's $0.99. Ember also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Ember is free to download; TriLevelChess costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
TriLevelChess ships an update every 2 months, Ember every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TriLevelChess | Ember |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free โ better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 10 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod โ better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | David Michael Matusow | Ryan Seekely |
In-app purchases
TriLevelChess
No in-app purchases
Ember
No in-app purchases








