Zenmate vs Chess Variants Studio
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side โ 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.
Chess Variants Studio
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Zenmate at none against Chess Variants Studio's 1. Chess Variants Studio's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Chess Variants Studio sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Zenmate asks for nothing beyond the download.
Zenmate ships an update every 6 weeks, Chess Variants Studio every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Zenmate | Chess Variants Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 9 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No โ better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod โ better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.6 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Timothy Nice | Michael Adams |
In-app purchases
Zenmate
No in-app purchases
Chess Variants Studio
- Unlimited Plays and Views$3.99
Questions
Is Zenmate free?
Is Chess Variants Studio free?
Do Zenmate or Chess Variants Studio have ads?
Which is updated more often, Zenmate or Chess Variants Studio?
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