Comparison

Chess vs Circular Chess

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

Head to head
About

Chess

Features
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Practise chess offline on your iPhone or iPad. Play against an on-device computer opponent, or take turns with a friend on the same device. • Nine new endgame challenges: basic mates, pawn promotion for both colours, and king support • Exercise categories, computer defence, move hints, retries, and saved completion marks • Switch between 2D and 3D boards, drag to rotate, pinch to zoom, and reset the camera • Four computer difficulty levels and your choice of playing colour • Twelve interactive lessons covering moves, check, and checkmate • Undo moves, review games step by step, and copy complete games as PGN • Autosave a match and continue later • English and Traditional Chinese menus No account is required. Core gameplay works offline. Games, preferences, and learning progress are stored on your device. Known limitation: some complex dead positions may not be automatically declared drawn.

About

Circular Chess

Experience chess in four unique ways, including standard, circular, cylinder, and king of the hill variants. Play offline against a computer with adjustable difficulty or with a friend on the same device. Features include legal move highlights and move history.

Highlights
  • Four unique chess board variants
  • Offline play against AI
  • Local multiplayer on one device
  • Adjustable AI difficulty
  • Legal move highlights
  • Undo and move history
Read full description

Four ways to play familiar chess pieces. Play around a ring in Circular Chess, follow attacks across joined edges in Cylinder Chess, race your king to the center in King of the Hill, or enjoy Standard Chess. Circular and Standard are free. One optional, one-time in-app purchase unlocks Cylinder and King of the Hill together. There is no subscription, and the purchase does not remove ads. People who had Circular Chess before version 2 keep all four boards at no charge. Use Restore purchases to check eligible access with your Apple Account. Choose English or Tamil. Play offline against the computer, or take turns with another person on the same device. • Four boards, each with its own saved game • Computer practice as White or Black • Adjustable practice difficulty before starting • Legal-move highlights, undo and move history • Board rotation and concise rules for each variant • No account required The computer offers five unrated practice levels. The difficulty slider remembers its position; moving within one level does not change the computer’s strength. Games are saved on your device. Online multiplayer and cloud backup are not included. The app contains advertising. We request nonpersonalized banners on Home and game screens, separate from the board and controls. Google shows regional privacy choices when required; revisit them through Ad privacy options when shown. Declining optional consent may still allow limited ads. An unavailable ad does not block a game you can access. Apple purchase and restore checks may require internet access.

Screenshots

Chess4 screens
Circular Chess1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chess at none against Circular Chess's 1. Chess also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 4 days). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chess ships an update daily, Circular Chess every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
Chess versus Circular Chess: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessCircular Chess
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Ad-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLung Wai HorSteelyard Ventures LLC

In-app purchases

None

Chess

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Circular Chess

One-time1
  • Extra Chess Boards$0.99

Questions

Is Chess free?
Chess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Circular Chess free?
Circular Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Chess or Circular Chess have ads?
Circular Chess shows ads; Chess does not.
Which is updated more often, Chess or Circular Chess?
Chess ships an update daily, and Circular Chess every 4 days. Most recently, Chess was updated on October 31, 2026 and Circular Chess on October 31, 2026.

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