Comparison

Flamingo Chess vs Chess Variants Studio

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

Head to head
About

Flamingo Chess

Features
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Flamingo Chess is plain chess for you and your friends: in Messages, live in the app, or across the table on one phone. No login, no tracking, no engine. Just a game of chess between people. PLAY IN MESSAGES Start a game right in a conversation and take turns whenever it suits you. Your opponent's move plays out on the board when you open it. Games in Messages are serverless: your moves travel in the conversation between your iPhones and are never stored on our servers. PLAY LIVE IN THE APP Pick a color, start a game, and share its five-letter invite code. Your friend types in the code and takes the other seat. Moves appear the moment they are made, and every game you play in the app waits in your games list, titled with both players' names, like "blueberry764 vs orange489." PLAY HOT SEAT Two people, one phone. The board turns to face whoever moves next, you can take moves back, and the game stays on your phone until you come back to it. SHARE YOUR GAMES Share any online or hot seat game as a scoresheet: plain text laid out like the paper sheet at a tournament, with the date, both players, the result, and every move in numbered rows. Send it to your opponent or keep it in your notes. KEEP YOUR GAMES Finished games go to the archive, where you can replay them move by move. AND ALSO • Offer a draw or resign, just like over the board • Speak your move: hold the Speech button and say "Move pawn to D3" • Playable with VoiceOver: every square announces its name and its piece, and legal moves are called out • Two board themes, Neon and Standard • Choose your own display name in Settings Have fun everyone!

About

Chess Variants Studio

Features
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Play any of nine variants of chess with 8 levels, 1200-2100, against the custom Pulsar engine. Review games with variant engine analysis. Styles supported are Chess960, Crazyhouse, Atomic, Losers, Giveaway, Three Checks, Advanced Pawns, Reversed Pawns and Random Pieces. The rules are included in-app. No signup. Ad Free. 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. Ratings range from 1200 to 2100 or 2200 depending on variant. Try the app for free. There's 10 free plays of pure variants like atomic, crazyhouse and loser's and 10 free plays of chessic variants like chess960 and 30 free views of played games with analysis. A single one-time purchase unlocks unlimited play and variant engine analysis. Played games are logged and can also be viewed/analyzed. When reviewing the player's games, users can override the moves and start making their own moves. Back up to main line to undo. If the user goes looks at the Moves while reviewing, the game can be copied to the clipboard. The app comes with two skin themes, a reddish wood and a teal. Also here are multiple board and piece choices to choose from in settings.

Screenshots

Flamingo Chess4 screens
Chess Variants Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Flamingo Chess at none against Chess Variants Studio's 1. Chess Variants Studio's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.0). 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. Chess Variants Studio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Flamingo Chess asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Flamingo Chess ships an update every 5 days, Chess Variants Studio every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Flamingo Chess versus Chess Variants Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlamingo ChessChess Variants Studio
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMartin Kim Đưng-PhạmMichael Adams

In-app purchases

None

Flamingo Chess

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Chess Variants Studio

One-time1
  • Unlimited Plays and Views$3.99

Questions

Is Flamingo Chess free?
Flamingo Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess Variants Studio free?
Chess Variants Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Flamingo Chess or Chess Variants Studio have ads?
Neither Flamingo Chess nor Chess Variants Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Flamingo Chess or Chess Variants Studio?
Flamingo Chess ships an update every 5 days, and Chess Variants Studio every 9 days. Most recently, Flamingo Chess was updated on October 24, 2026 and Chess Variants Studio on October 12, 2026.

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