Aeterna vs Chess Variants Studio
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Aeterna
Read full descriptionHide full description
Step into a living museum of strategy. Aeterna brings ancient board games back to life — each drawn from a different civilization, each with its own logic and rhythm. — MANCALA — Africa & the Middle East, Ancient Era Hands sow stones pit by pit around the board into your own store. Three thousand years of patience have worn these pits smooth — one of the oldest games alive. — BAGH-CHAL — Nepal, 16th Century Four tigers hunt twenty goats across a sacred board. A tense asymmetric battle of predator and prey, born in the Himalayas. — MŪ TŌRERE — New Zealand, 19th Century A Māori star-shaped board where every move constrains the next. Deceptively elegant, surprisingly deep. — LATRUNCULI — Rome, 1st Century BC The game of Roman soldiers — a battle of flanking and annihilation played on stone boards across the Empire. — SEEGA — Egypt, C. 1300 BC Two armies quietly fill a 5×5 grid before the battle begins. Capture by flanking — one exposed stone is all it takes. — SURAKARTA — Java, C. 16th Century Two armies trace a 6×6 board webbed with looping corners. Capture by looping — ride the curve and strike from behind. — PICARIA — American Southwest, c. 1700 Three pieces glide across a 13-point web of grid lines and hidden diagonals. Align three in a row to win — a Zuni Pueblo classic once played with pebbles and maize kernels. — HNEFATAFL — Scandinavia, Viking Age Defenders shield a king from besieging attackers on an 11×11 board. Reach a corner to escape — surround him on all four sides to end the siege. — FANORONA — Madagascar, 17th Century Two armies of stones cross a 45-point lattice, one step at a time. Capture sweeps a whole line at once, and it's compulsory — a single chain can clear a dozen stones. FEATURES • Play against AI or challenge a friend • Museum aesthetic: period-authentic typography and ambient soundscape • Available in English, Français, Español, Deutsch, 中文, हिन्दी AETERNA PREMIUM Remove all ads, unlock unlimited keys and unlimited undos — forever. One purchase, no subscription. Download Aeterna and step into 3,000+ years of strategy — one civilization at a time.
Chess Variants Studio
Read full descriptionHide full description
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
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Chess Variants Studio at none against Aeterna's shown. Chess Variants Studio also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.2). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Aeterna sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Chess Variants Studio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Aeterna ships an update weekly, Chess Variants Studio every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Aeterna | Chess Variants Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.2 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 58 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mohamed Ali BEN MANSOUR | Michael Adams |
In-app purchases
Aeterna
- Aeterna Premium$0.99
Chess Variants Studio
- Unlimited Plays and Views$3.99









