Chess vs Pulsar Chess Engine
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chess
Engage in chess with a comprehensive suite of tools for analysis, annotation, and online play. Explore game trees with side-lines, add detailed comments, and enjoy a stable FICS server connection. Features include a robust database, opening/endgame browsers, and training videos.
- Game tree representation with side-lines
- Detailed game annotation
- Stable FICS server communication
- Enhanced FICS interface
- Improved database and setup screen
- Opening and endgame browser
- Links to training videos
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With Chess-wise 3 you can play chess, analyse games, annotate game notations, play online, solve exercises, watch training videos and much more. - Games are represented as trees, so they can have side-lines. This means when analysing moves, this will not anymore overwrite the moves of the main game - On the new annotation screen, you can add comments and !! - or ?? to the moves - The communication with the FICS server has been complete rewritten and is now much more stable - The FICS interface has more features (support for multiple accounts, iMessage-like chatting, friend list) - Improved database (re-order games in a PGN file) and setup screen (move pieces on the board) - Landscape views for the opening and endgame browser, showing the possible moves next to the board - Over 250 links to free training videos - Separate screen to select the pieces orientation, when playing with 2 players - Help file with tutorial for each major use case Each screen has been re-designed to give a better user experience, focussing on the main actions that people want to do on that screen. Any suggestions for further improvements (as well as bug reports) are welcome at info@chess-wise.com
Pulsar Chess Engine
Play chess and six popular variants with adjustable AI difficulty levels. Review logged games, access master game collections, and utilize Crafty engine analysis for standard chess and Chess960. Offers accessibility features for blind users.
- Plays 7 chess variants
- Adjustable AI difficulty levels
- Game logging and review
- Master game collections
- Crafty engine analysis
- VoiceOver accessibility
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The Pulsar Chess Engine plays Chess and six variants all with multiple levels. The variants are Chess960, Crazyhouse, Loser's, Atomic, Three Checks and Giveaway. Rules included in-app. In addition, there is also a review mode to look at the user's log file with analysis available for non variants. 10 game collections of classic and modern master games are included to look at including Kasparov, Fischer, Carlsen, Capablanca and Morphy 1858 collections. These collections and the log file are searchable. Pulsar values mobility and active positions. In app there is an article with more on its playing style and how to train against it. With the variants, each has its own style. Chess960, Three Checks and Crazyhouse are the more chess like variants and adoptable to learn to play for anyone with interest. The rules of all games are in app. Pulsar has levels of play from beginner too advanced. Games with a time control are the hardest though Pulsar doesn't call the player's time. The time is more to handicap Pulsar's strength, but users will have a clock and can see if it's gone negative if they want to play the time control. The game button - configure game menu item, lets the user control the variant and difficulty. It defaults to Chess at Easy(lowest level) but remembers the current settings when the App restarts. There are choices of pieces and board color schemes. The Pulsar program was originally developed by me for computers starting in 1998 and came to mobile for the first time in 2014. Pulsar's board is accessible to the blind using Voice Over, a screen reader. Tap on a square and it will say whats on it and double tap to move or choose from three move methods. A screen reader can normally read anything with text like a button, but a board is a collection of images. To make it accessible, text must be returned to Voice Over when a tap is in the area of a square. Pulsar began as a chess program and later learned variants. It ran extensively on two servers for many years both at chess and variants. The ratings on the board reflect strength I saw in rated play on handicapped bots. They are not 100% exact but generalizations I made from the various bots I ran at different settings. If in the new game selector, Play vs. Computer is unchecked the user can move for both sides. This is to allow two people at same location to use the App as a board for a game and have the app enforce move legality and results for whatever variant is selected.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chess at Free against Pulsar Chess Engine's $1.99. Chess also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). Pulsar Chess Engine's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.6) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ratings volume, 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
Chess is free to download; Pulsar Chess Engine costs $1.99 up front. Chess sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pulsar Chess Engine asks for nothing beyond the download.
Pulsar Chess Engine holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 12 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 41% of Chess's written reviews are positive against 70% of Pulsar Chess Engine's.
Chess ships an update fortnightly, Pulsar Chess Engine every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chess | Pulsar Chess Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 3.6 (16 ratings) | 4.3 (12 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 40.7% of reviews | 70.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | 12 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Marcel Nijman | Michael Adams |
Customer experience
Chess
Pulsar Chess Engine
In-app purchases
Chess
- Unlock PRO$5.99
Pulsar Chess Engine
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Chess free?
Is Pulsar Chess Engine free?
Which has better reviews, Chess or Pulsar Chess Engine?
Do Chess or Pulsar Chess Engine have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chess or Pulsar Chess Engine?
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