Mindful Chess vs Mansuba
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
Mindful Chess
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Mindful Chess is a complete chess training app: solve puzzles, learn openings that stay with you, analyze any position and play a bot, all on your device. Solving quickly earns bonus points, but every wrong move costs points too, so the game rewards careful calculation over guessing. 100% OFFLINE ā POWERED BY MINDFUL ENGINE Every feature runs on your device: the puzzles, the opening lessons, the analysis board and the bot itself. Mindful Engine is a chess engine written from scratch for this app, so there is no third-party server anywhere in the loop. Put your phone in airplane mode and the whole app keeps working. FEATURES ⢠1.4 Million Offline Puzzles: Tactics taken from real games, ready anytime with no connection needed. A progress bar shows how many moves each puzzle needs, and the move list shows what has been played. ⢠NEW! See Why a Move Fails: Play a wrong move and your opponent's best answer appears on the board with a one-line explanation, such as "Check, but not mate: Black blocks with ...f6." ⢠Daily Puzzle ā Free for Everyone: One hard puzzle a day, the same for every player in the world, with a single attempt. The clock starts the moment the board is revealed and the fastest solve tops the leaderboard; each mistake adds 20 seconds. Build a streak, share your result and, if you like, get a reminder at the time you choose. ⢠Opening Trainer ā Openings That Actually Stick: Every line is first walked through with move-by-move explanations, then you play it back yourself. Spaced repetition remembers exactly which move you struggle with and brings it back just before you would forget it. 89 variations across 26 major openings, from the Sicilian and the London System to the Catalan and the Benko Gambit, trainable from either side. Starter lines in the Italian Game and the French Defence are free; the full course unlocks with Pro. ⢠NEW! Analyze Position, Now From a Screenshot (Pro): Set the pieces up yourself, or pick a screenshot of a board and the position is rebuilt on your device; any square it isn't sure about is marked for you to check. See the best move and a full evaluation, play any legal move to get the engine's reply, then continue the position against the bot. Made for finished games, puzzles and study positions. ⢠NEW! Opening Encyclopedia, Rebuilt (Pro): Over 3,800 named openings and variations from the open Lichess opening database, arranged in five ECO volumes and searchable by name or code. ⢠Three Bot Difficulties ā Free: Beginner, Club and Master, all on your device. The bot opens from a real opening book and only starts making mistakes once the opening is over, because that is when real players start making them. ⢠Hints and Blunder Coach (Pro): Ask for the best move in the middle of a game against the bot, catch a blunder the moment you play it and take it back. In puzzles, see the next move when you're stuck. ⢠Live Match ā Face-to-Face Multiplayer: Challenge a friend in the same room. Two devices connect directly over your local network, no internet required. Choose your color and time control (3, 5 or 10 minutes, or untimed), offer draws and play instant rematches. ⢠A Real Wooden Board: Maple and walnut squares, pieces that glide, legal moves that light up, and crisp sounds and haptics on every move. ⢠Game Center: Two leaderboards, your all-time score and the daily race (requires internet to sync). NO ADS. NO ACCOUNT. NO TRACKING. Puzzles, opening lessons and your progress stay on your device. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to opt out of. Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. LOOKING FOR A BIGGER CHALLENGE? The Mindful Chess Advanced Pack unlocks an extra archive of 1.7 million master-level (1800+ Elo) puzzles. Thanks to Smart Storage, it downloads only when you unlock it, so the initial download stays light.
Mansuba
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Most chess apps let you play. Mansuba makes you better. Mansuba (Ł ŁŲµŁŲØŲ©) is named after the classical Arabic chess study ā the positions medieval masters used to teach the game. This app is that idea reborn: a guided road that takes you from the empty board to genuine playing strength, one level at a time. THE PATH ⢠7 stages, 30 levels: foundations, the art of checkmate, tactics, openings, strategy, and endgames ⢠Every level teaches one idea, drills it on a real board, and unlocks the next ⢠Boss levels test you against the AI before you may pass ⢠Finish the path and beat the Master AI to earn the Digital Master title PUZZLES THAT ARE ACTUALLY CORRECT ⢠62 hand-crafted puzzles ā classic mating patterns plus positions adapted from real amateur games ⢠Every single position and solution is machine-verified against a chess engine ⢠Separate puzzle rating; first-try solves earn the most FIVE OPPONENTS THAT GROW WITH YOU ⢠Rookie (500) to Master (1600), with human-like play at every level ⢠Real ELO rating that moves with every game and puzzle ⢠Same level, different game ā the AI varies its play while keeping its strength A BOARD YOU'LL WANT TO LOOK AT ⢠3D-rendered piece sets: Classic, Glass, Metal, Jade, Wood, Red v Blue ⢠Five board themes, smooth animations, sound, and haptics ⢠Full light & dark mode ā follows your device setting automatically ⢠Full promotion choice, en passant, castling ā real chess, properly done FULLY BILINGUAL ⢠Complete English and Arabic, including the entire curriculum ⢠Proper right-to-left layout in Arabic YOURS, PRIVATELY ⢠No account, no sign-up, no ads, no tracking ⢠All progress stays on your device; multiple local profiles supported ⢠Works completely offline Plus a strategy library: the ten commandments of chess, how masters think, opening repertoires, endgame priorities, and how to take your skills to a real board. Free to play. A product of eClips Technologies ā https://eclips.tech
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mansuba at none against Mindful Chess's 2. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Mindful Chess sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Mansuba asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Mindful Chess | Mansuba |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Weekly | ā |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No ā better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 16.4 ā better |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 280 MB | 53 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Volkan Mutluer | Mohammad AlKhatib |
In-app purchases
Mindful Chess
- 1800+ Elo Advanced Puzzles$4.99
- Pro Version Unlock$5.99
Mansuba
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Mindful Chess free?
Is Mansuba free?
Do Mindful Chess or Mansuba have ads?
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