Comparison

Pulsar Chess Engine vs Chess960 ™

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Plays 7 chess variants
  • Adjustable AI difficulty levels
  • Game logging and review
  • Master game collections
  • Crafty engine analysis
  • VoiceOver accessibility
Features
Read 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.

About

Chess960 ™

Experience a unique chess variant where the starting position of pieces changes with each game. Test your strategic thinking with fresh challenges and play against AI or friends. Customize your game with different themes and join a growing community.

Highlights
  • Randomized starting positions
  • Play against AI or friends
  • Progress from beginner to pro
  • Customizable pieces and boards
  • Community sharing and leaderboards
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Chess960: Fresh Moves, a new twist on the classic chess game you can play on your phone. This game changes up the starting line-up of the chess pieces, making every match different and exciting. Bobby Fischer, a famous chess player, came up with Chess960 in the late 1990s. He wanted to make chess fun again by mixing up where the pieces start. This means players need to think of new strategies every time they play, not just remember old moves. What's Cool About Chess960: Fresh Moves? New Challenges: Every game feels like a new puzzle because the pieces start in different spots. Play Your Way: Battle against the game or play with friends and family. Climb from beginner to pro by winning games. Make It Yours: Pick your favorite chess pieces and boards. Change the game's look and sounds to match what you like. Join the Crowd: Share your wins and join a community of Chess960 fans. See how you stack up against others. Chess960: Fresh Moves is all about discovering new ways to play and have fun with chess. Download it now and start exploring a whole new chess world!

Screenshots

Pulsar Chess Engine4 screens
Chess960 ™4 screens

Verdict

The call

Pulsar Chess Engine and Chess960 ™ both sit at 4.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 70% of Pulsar Chess Engine's written reviews are positive against 0% of Chess960 ™'s. Pulsar Chess Engine also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 10 months). Chess960 ™'s advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and ratings volume (61 vs 12). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Chess960 ™ is free to download; Pulsar Chess Engine costs $1.99 up front. Chess960 ™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pulsar Chess Engine asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Pulsar Chess Engine against 4.4 for Chess960 ™. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess960 ™ has 61 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of Pulsar Chess Engine's written reviews are positive against 0% of Chess960 ™'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pulsar Chess Engine ships an update every 2 months, Chess960 ™ every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Pulsar Chess Engine versus Chess960 ™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPulsar Chess EngineChess960 ™
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (12 ratings)4.4 (61 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1261 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 10 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB69 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMichael AdamsVM Mobile Team

Customer experience

Pulsar Chess Engine

All ratings12 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative20.0%

Chess960 ™

All ratings61 ratings
Positive83.6%
Neutral6.6%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral33.3%
Negative66.7%

In-app purchases

None

Pulsar Chess Engine

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Chess960 ™

One-time1
  • Premium$3.99

Questions

Is Pulsar Chess Engine free?
Pulsar Chess Engine costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chess960 ™ free?
Chess960 ™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pulsar Chess Engine or Chess960 ™?
Chess960 ™ is rated higher. Pulsar Chess Engine averages 4.3 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Chess960 ™ averages 4.4 from 61 ratings.
Do Pulsar Chess Engine or Chess960 ™ have ads?
Neither Pulsar Chess Engine nor Chess960 ™ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pulsar Chess Engine or Chess960 ™?
Pulsar Chess Engine ships an update every 2 months, and Chess960 ™ every 10 months. Most recently, Pulsar Chess Engine was updated on October 14, 2026 and Chess960 ™ on October 5, 2026.

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