Zenmate vs Gambit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Zenmate
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Zenmate is a calm, beautifully designed chess app built for focused play. Play a quiet game against the AI, start a match with friends through Game Center, or pass-and-play on one device. Zenmate keeps the interface simple and refined so the board stays central and every move has room to breathe. Features: - Play vs AI with multiple difficulty levels - Play with friends using Game Center - Local 2-player pass-and-play - Light and dark mode - Optional board coordinates - Flip board support - Clean timers and move-focused gameplay A quiet game of kings. Designed to slow you down, one move at a time.
Gambit
Explore classic chess and five unique variants on a single board. Play against AI with adjustable difficulty, with friends offline, or online against others. Features include post-game analysis and a library of famous games.
- Classic Chess
- Five Chess Variants
- Computer AI Play
- Pass-and-Play Mode
- Online Multiplayer
- Post-Game Analysis
- Famous Game Library
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Gambit is chess — and five chess worlds beyond it. One clean board, every way to play. GAME TYPES • Classic Chess — full rules: castling, en passant, promotion, draws. • Fischer Random (Chess960) — randomized back rank with generalized castling. • Open Borders (Horde) — 36 pawns storm a full army. • Turnabout (Crazyhouse) — capture a piece, then drop it back as your own. • Siamese (Bughouse) — two boards, captured pieces feed your partner. • Star Trek Tri-D — three-dimensional chess across seven boards. WAYS TO PLAY • Computer — five difficulty levels, from a gentle start to a real fight. Moves are instant. • Pass-and-play — two players on one device. • Online — invite a friend with a link, or find a match automatically. Live clocks, resign and draw offers, and you can watch other live games. MORE • Eight board themes. • Post-game analysis — an evaluation graph and move-quality marks. • A library of famous games to replay. • Optional cross-device game history with "Sign in with Knomee." No account is required to play. Sign in only if you want your game history synced across devices.
Screenshots
Verdict
Zenmate and Gambit are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Zenmate ships an update every 6 weeks, Gambit every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Zenmate | Gambit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Timothy Nice | Joseph Malone |
In-app purchases
Zenmate
No in-app purchases
Gambit
No in-app purchases









