Watchess vs Notation Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Watchess
Play a full chess game directly on your Apple Watch, with no iPhone required. Challenge the AI or compete against other players in real-time multiplayer matches. Review your past games and track your progress with Game Center integration.
- Standalone Apple Watch app
- AI opponent with adjustable difficulty
- Real-time online multiplayer
- Game Center leaderboards and achievements
- Game history and replay
- Customizable themes and dark mode
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Play chess directly on your Apple Watch — no iPhone needed. Watchess is a complete, standalone chess game designed for watchOS. Challenge the AI opponent or play multiplayer games against other Watch users in real time. FEATURES • Full chess engine with adjustable difficulty levels • Multiplayer — play live games against other players online • Game Center integration — leaderboards and achievements • Game history and replay — review past games move by move • Dark mode and customizable board themes • Completely standalone — works without iPhone nearby
Notation Chess
Practice chess visualization and play games using only standard notation, directly from your Apple Watch. This app offers adjustable difficulty and engine settings, with the ability to review moves and peek at the board when needed.
- Play chess on Apple Watch
- Practice with standard chess notation
- Adjustable difficulty and engine settings
- Review move history
- Peek at the board feature
- Undo moves
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Play notation-first chess on the go, directly from your Apple Watch. Notation Chess is designed for players who want to practice visualization and play without relying on a full board view. Choose your color and difficulty, select moves using standard chess notation, and review your move history as the game progresses. The app is powered by the lightweight Chal chess engine, with adjustable search depth and move variety settings. When you need a quick visual reference, use Peek at Board to check the current position. You can also undo moves and start a new game at any time. Features - Play chess on the go from Apple Watch - Practice using standard chess notation - Powered by the Chal chess engine - Choose your color and difficulty level - Review the complete move history - Peek at the board when needed - Undo moves - Adjust engine search depth and move variety
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Notation Chess at 13.0 against Watchess's 17.0. On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Watchess against 5.0 for Notation Chess. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
| Parameter | Watchess | Notation Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Marco Rossit | Zheng Liang |
Customer experience
Watchess
Notation Chess
In-app purchases
Watchess
No in-app purchases
Notation Chess
No in-app purchases
