Pulsar Chess Engine vs Chess
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
Chess
Experience a classic board game with multiple difficulty levels and strategic play modes. Enjoy features like hints, undo, and game saving. Play against the device, another person, or watch AI matches.
- 5 play levels (Beginner to Expert)
- 3 play modes (Passive, Neutral, Aggressive)
- Hints and Undo functionality
- Design mode
- Automatic game saving
- Play against device or person
- Game statistics
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Chess is believed to have originated in India, some time before the 7th century. Try our incarnation of this ancient game. Completely free! This is not a demo, and has no locked options. Featuring: - 5 play levels (Beginner to Expert). Uses intelligent weakening for lower levels. Good for beginners. - Choose between 3 different play modes - Passive, Neutral or Aggressive - Hints - Undo - Design mode - Automatically save the game - Designed for both Tablet and Phone. - Play against a device, person-to-person or watch a device to play against itself. - Stats. Don't forget to check our Game section for other fun games....
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chess at Free against Pulsar Chess Engine's $1.99. Chess also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). Pulsar Chess Engine's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.7) and ads (none vs shown). On in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Pulsar Chess Engine holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Pulsar Chess Engine's written reviews are positive against 50% of Chess's.
Pulsar Chess Engine ships an update every 2 months, Chess every 19 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pulsar Chess Engine | Chess |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (12 ratings) — better | 3.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 12 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 19 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Adams | GASP Mobile Games Inc |
Customer experience
Pulsar Chess Engine
Chess
In-app purchases
Pulsar Chess Engine
No in-app purchases
Chess
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pulsar Chess Engine free?
Is Chess free?
Which has better reviews, Pulsar Chess Engine or Chess?
Do Pulsar Chess Engine or Chess have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pulsar Chess Engine or Chess?
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