Comparison

Dragon River vs Cube Chess

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

Head to head
About

Dragon River

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Cross the river. Guard the general. Claim the Jade Mandate. Dragon River turns traditional Xiangqi into a cinematic 3D battlefield while preserving the rules and tactical clarity of Chinese chess. • Play offline against three AI difficulty levels • Face a friend in local two-player mode • Choose tactical, cinematic, orbit, or top-down cameras • Use legal-move guidance, move history, undo, and saved matches • Choose from 15 languages • Tune graphics quality for your device No account and no cross-app tracking. The free version shows limited non-personalized ads; rewarded videos during a match are optional and start only when you tap them. One optional purchase removes every ad permanently. Your settings and saved matches stay on your device.

About

Cube Chess

Features
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Chess that also grows upward. Cube Chess brings Raumschach — a 5x5x5, 125-square variant played on five stacked boards — to your phone. Pieces move forward, sideways, and up and down. The check you never saw coming arrives from below. That surprise is the whole game. ā–  Prof. Mono teaches you An interactive tutorial covers everything from the rules to thinking in three dimensions. New to chess? Bad with spatial puzzles? You'll be fine. ā–  The Challenge Tower — seven keepers Seven opponents with distinct personalities: the aggressor, the wall, the trickster. Climb one floor at a time through a story mode. ā–  Get a little stronger every day Daily mate puzzles, a 12-step learning ladder, a three-strike Puzzle Rush, and forced-mate problems in two difficulty tiers. ā–  A level that fits you Three AI strengths plus material handicaps, so your first win is never out of reach. ā–  A quiet cosmos to think in Seven glass-and-starlight themes, unlocked as you play. Everything runs offline. No account, no connection required. Available in 12 languages. Test the depth of your reading in a quiet cosmos.

Screenshots

Dragon River3 screens
Cube Chess4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cube Chess at none against Dragon River's 1. Cube Chess also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 10 days). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Dragon River sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Cube Chess asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dragon River ships an update every 10 days, Cube Chess every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
Dragon River versus Cube Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDragon RiverCube Chess
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB73 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperHaosheng LiKamineko

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Dragon River

One-time1
  • Permanent Ad Removal$4.99
None

Cube Chess

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dragon River free?
Dragon River is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cube Chess free?
Cube Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Dragon River or Cube Chess have ads?
Both Dragon River and Cube Chess show ads.
Which is updated more often, Dragon River or Cube Chess?
Dragon River ships an update every 10 days, and Cube Chess every 3 days. Most recently, Dragon River was updated on October 31, 2026 and Cube Chess on November 6, 2026.

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