Comparison

Gambito Puzzles vs Think Like a Master

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

Head to head
About

Gambito Puzzles

Features
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Gambito is a focused chess tactics trainer built for practical improvement. Solve puzzles from an offline database, track your progress with a Glicko-2 rating system, and develop mastery through spaced repetition — no internet connection or account required. Choose from six distinct puzzle modes to match your training goal: - Unlimited: solve at your own pace with no time pressure - Streak: keep a correct-answer streak alive - Storm: race the clock to solve as many as possible - Thematic: focus on specific tactical motifs - Blind: train calculation by hiding the board - No Tactic: practice recognizing when there is no winning combination Your Glicko-2 rating adjusts dynamically to reflect your true tactical strength. Spaced repetition surfaces puzzles at the right time to reinforce long-term retention. Terms of Use (EULA): https://gambitochess.com/terms

About

Think Like a Master

Features
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Can you think like a chess legend? Think Like a Master puts you in the shoes of José Raúl Capablanca — one of the greatest chess players who ever lived. Study his real games, guess his moves, and discover what separates world-class chess thinking from the rest. HOW IT WORKS Each session replays a real Capablanca game from his historical record. After a short opening, you take control. For every position where Capablanca had to make a decision, you make your move first — then see how the master responded. Did you find his move? Did you find something even better? Were you close, or did you miss something critical? WHAT YOU'LL LEARN • How a world champion evaluates positions and selects moves • Which moves Stockfish considers the top candidates in any position • Where your thinking diverges from elite-level play • How to spot the tactical and strategic patterns used by the greats THE CAPABLANCA AI CHALLENGE At the heart of the app is an AI model trained exclusively on Capablanca's games — not just to find good moves, but to find his moves. The model has studied his patterns, his style, his preferences. It knows he favored clean piece activity over speculative attacks. It knows he simplified when ahead. It knows how he thought. Every time you guess a move, the AI is guessing too. You're not just competing against Stockfish's cold engine evaluation — you're trying to outthink a model built in Capablanca's image. Did you find the move the engine rates highest? Or did you find the move that he would have played? Sometimes those are the same. Often they're not. That tension is where the real chess learning happens. FEATURES • 597 real games from Capablanca's complete career • Stockfish-powered analysis shows the top 5 candidate moves for every position • AI style model trained on Capablanca's games predicts his preferred move • See when you think like the engine, when you think like the master, and when you found something neither did • Post-game report card grades your performance with detailed statistics • Deep analysis mode reveals continuations after every key decision • Fully on-device — no internet required for analysis • Covers his full career from 1901 through 1939 YOUR REPORT CARD After each game you receive a full breakdown: • How often you matched Capablanca exactly • How often your move was in the top 5 candidates • How often you found something better than the master • Your blunder count and where you went wrong MORE MASTERS COMING Capablanca is just the beginning. Future updates will bring more legendary players from chess history — each with their own AI model trained on their unique style. Every great player thought differently. Every one is worth studying. FOR ALL CHESS PLAYERS Whether you're learning the game or pushing toward a higher rating, studying master games is one of the most effective ways to improve. Think Like a Master makes it interactive — not passive. Stop watching. Start thinking.

Screenshots

Gambito Puzzles4 screens
Think Like a Master3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Gambito Puzzles at none against Think Like a Master's shown. Gambito Puzzles also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, in-app purchases 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. Gambito Puzzles sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Think Like a Master sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gambito Puzzles ships an update every 4 days, Think Like a Master every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Gambito Puzzles versus Think Like a Master: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGambito PuzzlesThink Like a Master
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size106 MB72 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDynadelKenneth Sparks

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Gambito Puzzles

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Premium Annual7 Days trial$4.991 Year
1 purchases

Think Like a Master

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is Gambito Puzzles free?
Gambito Puzzles is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Think Like a Master free?
Think Like a Master is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Gambito Puzzles or Think Like a Master have ads?
Think Like a Master shows ads; Gambito Puzzles does not.
Which is updated more often, Gambito Puzzles or Think Like a Master?
Gambito Puzzles ships an update every 4 days, and Think Like a Master every 2 weeks. Most recently, Gambito Puzzles was updated on September 8, 2026 and Think Like a Master on September 9, 2026.

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