Comparison

Cheice vs Chess Variants Studio

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

Head to head
About

Cheice

Features
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Play chess against a built-in computer, solve daily puzzles, learn openings, and analyze your games โ€” all in one app. Cheice is a complete chess studio for players of every level. Challenge the built-in engine across four difficulty levels, play a friend with Pass & Play, sharpen your tactics with themed puzzles, work through interactive lessons, and get detailed post-game analysis with move-by-move accuracy ratings. Everything runs locally โ€” no account or internet required for gameplay. WHAT YOU GET: โ€ข Play vs Computer Four difficulty levels from beginner to expert. The engine uses adjustable search depth with move ordering and transposition tables. Legal moves are highlighted, and you can undo moves at any time. โ€ข Pass & Play Play a friend on the same device with board flipping between turns. Choose from Bullet (1 min), Blitz (3 min), and Rapid (10 min) time controls. Offer draws, resign, or undo moves. โ€ข Full Chess Rules Complete implementation including castling, en passant, pawn promotion, check/checkmate, stalemate, threefold repetition, fifty-move rule, and insufficient material draws. โ€ข Daily Puzzles A new puzzle every day with tactical themes: Mate in 1, Mate in 2, Forks, Pins, Skewers, and more. Track your puzzle rating and streak. โ€ข Interactive Lessons 20+ lessons across 5 categories โ€” Basics, Tactics, Openings, Endgames, and Strategy. Each lesson walks you through positions step by step with board highlights. โ€ข Opening Explorer (Pro) Study 6 famous openings: Sicilian Defense, Queen's Gambit, King's Indian Defense, Ruy Lopez, French Defense, and English Opening. โ€ข Game Analysis (Pro) After each game, see move-by-move quality ratings (Brilliant, Excellent, Good, Inaccuracy, Mistake, Blunder), accuracy percentages, evaluation chart, and best move suggestions for mistakes. โ€ข Achievements Unlock 9 achievements โ€” from your first win to reaching 1500 rating and completing 15 lessons. HOW IT WORKS: 1. Open the app and jump into a game, puzzle, or lesson 2. Play against the computer or a friend 3. Analyze your game to find improvements 4. Track your rating and achievements over time FREE & PRO: Get started with Easy difficulty, Pass & Play, daily puzzles, and introductory lessons. Upgrade to Cheice Pro for all difficulty levels, unlimited puzzles, all lessons, Opening Explorer, and Game Analysis. Cheice Pro is available as an auto-renewable subscription. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://umituz.com/projects/entertainment-fun/cheice/privacy Terms of Use: https://umituz.com/projects/entertainment-fun/cheice/terms

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

Cheice4 screens
Chess Variants Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Chess Variants Studio at every 9 days against Cheice's every 6 weeks. Chess Variants Studio also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Cheice sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days and Chess Variants Studio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cheice ships an update every 6 weeks, Chess Variants Studio every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Cheice versus Chess Variants Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCheiceChess Variants Studio
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 9 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS17.015.6 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size12 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUmit UZMichael Adams

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Cheice

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Weekly$5.997 Days
  • Pro Yearly$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$79.99
1 purchases

Chess Variants Studio

One-time1
  • Unlimited Plays and Views$3.99

Questions

Is Cheice free?
Cheice is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chess Variants Studio free?
Chess Variants Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cheice or Chess Variants Studio have ads?
Neither Cheice nor Chess Variants Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cheice or Chess Variants Studio?
Cheice ships an update every 6 weeks, and Chess Variants Studio every 9 days. Most recently, Cheice was updated on October 24, 2026 and Chess Variants Studio on October 31, 2026.

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