Comparison

dotChess vs Pawnpetal

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

Head to head
About

dotChess

Engage in classic chess matches with friends, AI opponents, or players globally. This modern application allows you to track your statistics, communicate during games, and resume play across multiple devices.

Highlights
  • Play live games with friends
  • Challenge AI bots
  • Global matchmaking
  • Account creation and stat tracking
  • In-game chat
  • Cross-device play
Features
Read full description

dotChess is a modern chess app built for playing with real people. Play live games with friends, challenge AI bots, or get matched with players worldwide. Create an account, track your stats, chat during games, and pick up where you left off on any device.

About

Pawnpetal

Features
Read full description

Learn chess one move at a time. Solve daily puzzles, build your skills with 72 free interactive lessons and enjoy a thoughtful game on iPhone, iPad or Mac. FIND YOUR NEXT GOOD MOVE Start with the board and pieces, then explore openings, tactics, strategy and endgames. The Skill Garden pairs guided examples with positions you play yourself. Placement challenges help you find a useful starting point; practice and checkpoints help you keep growing. A LITTLE CHESS EVERY DAY Find checkmate in one, two or three moves. Revisit previous puzzle days, replay solutions and follow your progress. Ready for more? Try the optional mate-in-five Challenger without hints. PLAY AT YOUR PACE Practice against three offline bot levels or share a board on one device. Connect through Nearby, or challenge Game Center friends to correspondence games and live matches with 10 minutes per player. Continue saved local games when you return. LEARN FROM YOUR OWN GAMES Replay saved games, compare moves and turn useful positions into personal practice. Import PGN games to explore variations and export your own moves. On Mac, a spacious review workspace gives your games room to breathe. A BOARD THAT FEELS LIKE YOURS Pastel Garden and Classic Clarity are included. Pumpkinlight Court is a permanent free gift, with matching reactions. Prove all 72 skills to earn Everbloom Sovereigns. This learning reward cannot be unlocked by purchases. Optional purchases add cosmetic content. Core chess, all lessons and daily puzzles are free, with no ads or subscriptions. Cosmetic purchases are permanent. Optional private iCloud sync carries supported progress and saved insights across your devices. Available in 20 languages. Local play and lessons need no Pawnpetal account. Game Center play needs internet access. Optional Apple Intelligence depends on supported devices, languages and system availability. Engine analysis can miss stronger moves. Privacy: https://valorem.ing/apps/privacy Support: https://valorem.ing

Screenshots

dotChess4 screens
Pawnpetal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: dotChess at none against Pawnpetal's 10. dotChess also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pawnpetal sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. dotChess asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
dotChess versus Pawnpetal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterdotChessPawnpetal
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size193 MB415 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThomas BaricGal Itach

In-app purchases

None

dotChess

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Pawnpetal

One-time10
  • Cosmic Pawns Reactions$1.99
  • Cozy Cats Reactions$1.99
  • Maid Café Reactions$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Pixel Arcade Reactions$1.99
  • Turbo Toys$2.99
  • Robot Parade$2.99
  • Dino Picnic$2.99
  • Maid Cafe$2.99
  • Popstage Crew$2.99
  • Moonlit Grove$2.99

Questions

Is dotChess free?
dotChess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pawnpetal free?
Pawnpetal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do dotChess or Pawnpetal have ads?
Neither dotChess nor Pawnpetal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, dotChess or Pawnpetal?
dotChess ships an update every 5 days, and Pawnpetal every 5 days. Most recently, dotChess was updated on November 5, 2026 and Pawnpetal on November 6, 2026.

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