Shogi Lite vs ™ Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shogi Lite
A digital adaptation of the ancient Japanese board game, offering a strategic challenge similar to chess. Players can capture opponent pieces and redeploy them on the board, adding a unique tactical layer to gameplay.
- Classic Shogi gameplay
- Piece capture and redeployment
- Two-player strategy
- Similar to Chess and Xiangqi
- Digital board game adaptation
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“Shogi” is a classic board game that has been popularly played for the past 1000 years. It is similar to the games of chess and xiangqi. One unique feature of “Shogi” is it allows players to use the captured pieces.
™ Chess
Engage in the timeless strategy of chess on your mobile device. Play against sophisticated AI opponents across multiple difficulty levels, or challenge friends and family. Features include an undo option, board editor, and customizable themes for a personalized experience.
- Play against AI
- Multiplayer matches
- Undo feature
- Board editor
- Customizable themes
- Game save/load
- Timed games
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Chess is a classic board game for quiet study, quick practice, local play, and relaxed online matches through Game Center. Play your way: - Start an online game through Game Center and play a casual no-time-limit match. - Practice against multiple AI difficulty levels. - Solve thousands of chess puzzles, including 777 newly added tactical positions. - Play local two-player games on the same device. - Save and load games when you want to continue later. - Set up custom positions with the board editor. - Customize boards, pieces, avatars, sounds, and themes. - Try timed games when you want a sharper challenge. This update also adds a seasonal football-themed board background and avatar for the 2026 world tournament season. Whether you want to train tactics, learn openings, play against AI, share a local game, or challenge another player online, Chess is built for comfortable play at your own pace.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shogi Lite at none against ™ Chess's 1. Shogi Lite also leads on review sentiment (55% vs 37%) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 4 months). ™ Chess's advantage is ratings volume (10K vs 12). On price, rating, ads 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. ™ Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Shogi Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Shogi Lite against 4.5 for ™ Chess. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ™ Chess has 10K ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 55% of Shogi Lite's written reviews are positive against 37% of ™ Chess's.
Shogi Lite ships an update every 6 weeks, ™ Chess every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shogi Lite | ™ Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (12 ratings) — better | 4.5 (10K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 55.4% of reviews — better | 37.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 10K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 112 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shigeo Mimura | VM Mobile Team |
Customer experience
Shogi Lite
™ Chess
Bugs and requests
Shogi Lite
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
™ Chess
Reported bugs
3 issues- Illegal moves allowed by AI
- Incorrect draw detection
- Castling not functioning properly
Requested features
4 requests- Add more difficulty settings
- Allow under-promotion
- Improve AI difficulty scaling
- Reduce ads or offer paid version
In-app purchases
Shogi Lite
No in-app purchases
™ Chess
- Premium$3.99
