Pulsar Chess Engine vs Real Chess Master 3D
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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.
Real Chess Master 3D
Experience the classic game of chess in a visually stunning 3D environment. Play against a challenging AI with numerous difficulty levels or test your skills against real players worldwide. Offers helpful hints for beginners and customizable board themes.
- Advanced 3D graphics
- Play against AI
- Play against real opponents
- 2400 AI difficulty levels
- Beginner hints
- Customizable chess set themes
- 3D and 2D board variants
Read full descriptionHide full description
This app brings classic chess game into new dimension. With advanced 3D graphics you can feel all beauty of interacting with virtual chess set. Choose to play with AI or with real opponents. Game Features: - Advanced 3D graphics; - Matchmaking feature; - AI with 2400 levels of difficulty; - Hints for beginners - highlighting of possible moves; - Different themes of chess set; - 3D and 2D board variants;
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pulsar Chess Engine at 70% against Real Chess Master 3D's 23%. Pulsar Chess Engine also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.6) and ads (none vs shown). Real Chess Master 3D's advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and ratings volume (392 vs 12). 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
Real Chess Master 3D 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 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Real Chess Master 3D has 392 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Pulsar Chess Engine's written reviews are positive against 23% of Real Chess Master 3D's.
Pulsar Chess Engine ships an update every 2 months, Real Chess Master 3D every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pulsar Chess Engine | Real Chess Master 3D |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (12 ratings) — better | 3.6 (392 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews — better | 23.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 392 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 11 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 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 99 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Michael Adams | 海龙 王 |
Customer experience
Pulsar Chess Engine
Real Chess Master 3D
Bugs and requests
Pulsar Chess Engine
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Real Chess Master 3D
Reported bugs
8 issues- Piece movement speed settings not functioning
- Rook moves incorrectly from edge squares
- Illegal moves permitted in gameplay
- App crashes on iPhone XR and newer models
- Ads blocking chess board content
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Online feature disappeared after updates
- Checkmate logic errors
- Game not responding to rotation settings
Requested features
8 requests- Online multiplayer for iOS users
- Faster piece movement speed
- Ability to play with friends online
- Cross-platform play between iOS and Android
- Adjustable board viewing angle in 3D mode
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Portrait and landscape rotation support
- Paid ad-free version
- Better difficulty balancing for AI levels
In-app purchases
Pulsar Chess Engine
No in-app purchases
Real Chess Master 3D
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pulsar Chess Engine free?
Is Real Chess Master 3D free?
Which has better reviews, Pulsar Chess Engine or Real Chess Master 3D?
Do Pulsar Chess Engine or Real Chess Master 3D have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pulsar Chess Engine or Real Chess Master 3D?
Other comparisons















