ChessFlex vs Play Chess & Master Games
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ChessFlex
Play chess with friends or AI without accounts or servers. Features a FIDE-formula rating system and asynchronous play. Offers an optional one-time unlock for in-depth game analysis and coaching.
- Play with friends via QR code or iMessage
- Human-like AI bots with adjustable ELO
- FIDE-formula rating system
- Asynchronous and timed game modes
- No chat, only chess notation
- Private by design, no accounts or tracking
- Optional game analysis and coaching unlock
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ChessFlex is chess stripped back to the game. No accounts, no servers, no chat — just the board, the friends you choose, and a real rating that's yours. PLAY YOUR CIRCLE Connect by trading a QR code, in person or over iMessage. No global matchmaking, no strangers, no friend requests. The people across the board are people you picked. HUMANS — OR HUMAN-LIKE BOTS Five built-in bots from 400 to 2000 ELO play like real people at that level: they make human mistakes, not random ones. A real game and a real rating from your very first move. And when you've beaten them all, there's King — our own engine at full strength, and not human-like at all. FIDE-FORMULA RATING Every game updates your rating with the standard FIDE formula. It's your history, not your ceiling — anyone can challenge anyone, and a 1200 taking on a 2000 is courage, not a mistake. PLAY AT YOUR PACE Async by default — make a move, put your phone away, pick it up hours later. Or set a clock: Blitz, Rapid, Classical, or multi-day correspondence. THE BOARD IS THE CONVERSATION There's no chat box, ever. Players speak only in standard chess annotation symbols — !! for a brilliant move, ? for a mistake. Nothing personal can be exchanged, so there's nothing to moderate, and it's cross-language by default. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No email, no sign-up, no tracking, no ads. Your identity is your device; your games live on your device and travel only between you and your opponent. CHESSFLEX STUDY (optional) A one-time unlock that turns every game into a lesson: move-by-move analysis, win-chance insight in plain language, guided openings, and practice positions. Scan a chess diagram from a screenshot and play it out, or have the coach read its suggested line aloud. Playing, ratings, and opening names stay free, always. From Labham LLC. A sibling to LexFlex.
Play Chess & Master Games
Play chess against a customizable engine or study the games of chess legends. Features include engine analysis, an opening explorer, and offline play. Unlock unlimited access with a one-time purchase.
- Play against 8 skill levels of Pulsar engine
- Study games of 20 chess masters
- Over 800 World Championship games
- Engine analysis and opening explorer
- Offline play, no sign-up required
- Searchable game lists
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Play chess against the custom Pulsar engine with 8 skill levels (approximately 1200–2100). Explore the games of 20 of history's greatest chess masters during their peak years, including over 800 World Championship games. Includes engine analysis, an opening explorer, searchable game lists, and autoplay. No sign-up, no ads, and works offline. The playing program is one i've designed and tested at different levels on internet chess servers in order to come up with the ratings on the board. Users get 12 plays and can view 30 chess games for free. These are separate counters. There is a single one time in-app purchase to unlock both unlimited chess play and viewing. There are about 400 games per player on average with fully searchable lists. Just search world when viewing a player for the world championships. Chess masters included are Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik, Kapsparov, Karpov, Korchnoi, Fischer, Spassky Petrosian, Smyslov, Tal, Keres, Botvinnik, Fine, Alekhine, Capablanca, Lasker, Pillsbury, Steinitz and Morphy. Played games are logged and can also be viewed/analyzed. When reviewing master or player's games, users can override the moves and start making their own moves. The engine analysis has a move now option for users to test their moves against the engine. Back up to main line to undo. After a few moves, the opening name is given. When reviewing there is an opening explorer and engine analysis options on the board. The explorer is built from over 600k high rated, mostly over the board games. The full game's text/moves can be seen and copied to the clipboard to share with others apps when viewing Moves.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ChessFlex at 5.0 against Play Chess & Master Games's 4.0. Play Chess & Master Games's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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. ChessFlex sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Play Chess & Master Games sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
ChessFlex holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
ChessFlex ships an update weekly, Play Chess & Master Games every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ChessFlex | Play Chess & Master Games |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Labham LLC | Michael Adams |
Customer experience
ChessFlex
Play Chess & Master Games
In-app purchases
ChessFlex
- 14-day TrialFree
- ChessFlex Study$19.99
Play Chess & Master Games
- Play-Watch-Unlimited$3.99
Questions
Is ChessFlex free?
Is Play Chess & Master Games free?
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