Comparison

Chessferatu vs Shogi Do

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

Head to head
About

Chessferatu

Learn and practice chess openings through a gamified experience with eerie rivals and high-stakes decisions. Study, battle, and improve with focused play modes, detailed move analysis, and lifetime stats. Features a distinctive horror-inspired presentation for a unique training approach.

Highlights
  • Gamified chess learning
  • Offline capability
  • Study opening lines
  • Battle mode for openings
  • Detailed move analysis
  • Lifetime stats tracking
  • Horror-inspired presentation
Read full description

Chessferatu is chess learning gamified. Have fun while you learn chess openings and move selections all with no subscriptions and offline capability. Instead of feeling like a dry lesson or a generic engine board, Chessferatu turns practice into a world of eerie rivals and high-stakes decisions where every move counts. Study, battle, and improve through focused play modes designed to help you get stronger while keeping the experience fast, engaging, and memorable. Whether you want to sharpen your opening knowledge, test yourself against themed opponents, or simply play and review your decisions, Chessferatu is built to make improvement feel rewarding. Battle a cast of distinct chess opponents with their own visual style and progression Study opening lines in a guided mode built for repetition and learning Follow in the footsteps of Grandmasters in our unique dynamic Grandmasters mode Practice openings in battle mode to test whether you can actually apply what you studied (Over one billion human games analyzed for real offbook mistakes) Review your move quality with detailed feedback including top moves, excellent moves, great moves, good moves, inaccuracies, errors, and blunders Track your accuracy and performance after each completed game View lifetime stats to measure long-term progress Monitor streaks and push for cleaner, more consistent play Explore a wide range of openings and lines through a streamlined menu system Train in a distinctive horror-inspired presentation that gives the game its own identity Chessferatu is designed for players who want more than a plain chess board. It is for learners who want structure, for competitors who want feedback, and for chess fans who want practice to feel alive. The result is a training-focused chess app with personality, atmosphere, and real depth. If you enjoy chess improvement, opening practice, move analysis, and a darker visual style, Chessferatu offers a fresh way to train. Step into the world, face the roster, learn the lines, and see how far your game can go.

About

Shogi Do

Features
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Shogi Do brings authentic Japanese chess to your phone — full rules, real AI, no shortcuts. REAL SHOGI, DONE RIGHT Every piece moves exactly as it should, including piece drops, promotion, and the subtle rules that separate shogi from Western chess: nifu (you can't drop a second pawn on a file that already has one) and uchifuzume (you can't drop a pawn to deliver instant checkmate). Both are enforced automatically, so every game is a legal game. DROP AND PROMOTE Capture an enemy piece and it joins your hand — drop it back onto the board as your own on a later turn, exactly like the real game. Pieces that reach the far three ranks can promote to a stronger form, with the app prompting you when promotion is optional and applying it automatically when it's forced. PLAY YOUR WAY - Three AI difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, Hard - Clean, fast board with legal-move highlighting and a tap-to-drop hand tray - No ads, no gambling, no real-money wagers — just the game - Works completely offline Whether you're learning shogi for the first time or you've played for years, Shogi Do gives you a rules-accurate opponent any time, anywhere.

Screenshots

Chessferatu4 screens
Shogi Do4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Shogi Do at none against Chessferatu's shown. Chessferatu's advantage is device support (4 vs 1). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. Chessferatu sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Shogi Do sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chessferatu ships an update every 2 weeks, Shogi Do fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Chessferatu versus Shogi Do: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessferatuShogi Do
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size354 MB1 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperHalf-Cocked StudiosQuyen Ngo

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Chessferatu

One-time3
  • Unlock All Opponents$4.99
  • Remove Ads$4.99
  • Magic Keyring$9.99
1 purchases

Shogi Do

One-time1
  • Shogi Do Pro$2.99

Questions

Is Chessferatu free?
Chessferatu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shogi Do free?
Shogi Do is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Chessferatu or Shogi Do have ads?
Chessferatu shows ads; Shogi Do does not.
Which is updated more often, Chessferatu or Shogi Do?
Chessferatu ships an update every 2 weeks, and Shogi Do fortnightly. Most recently, Chessferatu was updated on October 22, 2026 and Shogi Do on October 24, 2026.

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