MAHJ vs Chess Notation Fluency
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MAHJ
Master American Mahjong with interactive lessons and tools. Go from beginner to confident player with clear guidance on tiles, rules, and scoring. Practice at your own pace and get answers to your questions.
- Step-by-step lessons
- Practice game
- Hand Analyzer
- Scoring Calculator
- Tile Trainer
- Ask the Coach
- Printable cheat sheet
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Learn American Mahjong from scratch, and walk into your first game night feeling confident. MAHJ teaches the modern American game step by step, from learning the tiles to understanding the Charleston, reading the card, calling tiles, using jokers, and playing through a complete hand. WHAT'S INSIDE • 18 step-by-step lessons for complete beginners • Tile drills, daily practice, and interactive exercises • A printable cheat sheet and A–Z glossary • Play vs. bots to practice a real hand at your own pace • Ask the Coach, an AI-powered tutor that explains rules and strategy in plain English • Host Mode and group-play tools to help get your table started LEARN AT YOUR OWN PACE Lessons, drills, daily practice, the cheat sheet, and glossary can be used without an internet connection. Online features such as the AI Coach and Hand Analyzer require internet access. ONE-TIME PURCHASE. NO SUBSCRIPTION. Start with the free introductory lessons. If you want to continue, one optional one-time purchase unlocks all 18 lessons, the Coach, play-vs-bots, and additional learning tools. No subscription. No ads. MAHJ is built for new players who want to stop feeling lost, understand what’s happening at the table, and feel ready to join a real game. Learn the game. Practice at your own pace. Feel ready for the table. Welcome2Mahj LLC is an independent educational tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL®).
Chess Notation Fluency
Master chess notation with interactive exercises. Practice reading and writing Standard Algebraic Notation (SAN) using real game sequences. Track your progress and learn from detailed results.
- Read and write Standard Algebraic Notation (SAN)
- Practice with real chess game sequences
- Train notation in both directions
- Customize practice sessions
- Track accuracy and mistake patterns
- Offline practice available
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Make chess notation feel natural. Chess Notation Fluency helps you read and write Standard Algebraic Notation (SAN) through focused practice with real game sequences. TRAIN IN BOTH DIRECTIONS • Watch a move on the board, then enter its notation. • Read a notation prompt, then play the move. • Use Mixed practice to alternate naturally between the two skills. PRACTICE YOUR WAY Choose White or Black, type answers or use multiple choice, begin in the opening, middlegame, or endgame, and select a quick session or a complete game. Exercises retain the surrounding moves so you practice notation in context—not as isolated flash cards. LEARN FROM YOUR RESULTS Track first-try accuracy, attempts, response time, revealed answers, notation features, mistake patterns, and recent sessions. START FREE. EXPAND ONCE. Every practice mode works with two included starter games. An optional one-time Full Game Library purchase unlocks 5,000 curated games for offline practice and lets you import your own PGN games. One purchase unlocks the library on iPhone, iPad, and Mac and supports Family Sharing. There are no subscriptions or ads. PRIVATE AND AVAILABLE Practice history and imported games stay in app-managed storage and synchronize through your private iCloud storage when available. Downloaded content works offline. Chess Notation Fluency has no developer account system and collects no personal data. Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: MAHJ at free against Chess Notation Fluency's free with in-app purchases. MAHJ also leads on ratings volume (1.4K vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.4 vs 26.0). On price, rating, 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. MAHJ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Chess Notation Fluency sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for MAHJ against 5.0 for Chess Notation Fluency. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MAHJ has 1.4K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
MAHJ ships an update every 4 days, Chess Notation Fluency every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | MAHJ | Chess Notation Fluency |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (1.4K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 94.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.4K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.4 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 174 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Welcome2Mahj LLC | Mark Harris |
Customer experience
MAHJ
Chess Notation Fluency
In-app purchases
MAHJ
- Premium Unlock$4.99
Chess Notation Fluency
- Full Game Library$4.99
Questions
Is MAHJ free?
Is Chess Notation Fluency free?
Which has better reviews, MAHJ or Chess Notation Fluency?
Do MAHJ or Chess Notation Fluency have ads?
Which is updated more often, MAHJ or Chess Notation Fluency?
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