# Pulsar Chess Engine vs Chess Puzzles & Tactics

The clearest difference is price: Chess Puzzles & Tactics at Free against Pulsar Chess Engine's $1.99. Chess Puzzles & Tactics also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (488 vs 12). Pulsar Chess Engine's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, review sentiment, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Pulsar Chess Engine against 4.5 for Chess Puzzles & Tactics. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chess Puzzles & Tactics has 488 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 76% of Chess Puzzles & Tactics's.

Pulsar Chess Engine ships an update every 2 months, Chess Puzzles & Tactics weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pulsar Chess Engine | Chess Puzzles & Tactics |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $1.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.3 (12 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pulsar-chess-engine/id839640447/reviews) | **[4.5 (488 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-puzzles-and-tactics/id6480381614/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 12 | **488** |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews | **75.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 11 MB | 89 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.1** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Michael Adams](https://appshunter.io/developer/743520896) | [Sajed Nahian](https://appshunter.io/developer/1494597866) |

## What reviewers say

### Pulsar Chess Engine

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pulsar-chess-engine/id839640447)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Chess Puzzles & Tactics

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chess-puzzles-and-tactics/id6480381614)

Enhance your chess skills with an extensive collection of puzzles and tactical exercises. Tailor your training by customizing puzzle difficulty and Elo ratings to target specific weaknesses and accelerate improvement, suitable for players of all levels.

**Highlights:** Infinite chess puzzles, Tactics training, Customizable puzzles, Elo rating adjustment, All player levels, Extensive tactic list

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ad-Free Forever | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🆓 Free to use, no ads
- ♾️ Seemingly endless puzzles
- 🧠 Great for chess improvement
- 👍 Simple and easy to use interface
- 🎯 Puzzles tailored to skill level

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent bugs and glitches
- 🔄 Progress resets (ELO, history)
- ⚠️ Login issues (Apple/Google)
- ⏳ Puzzles take a long time to load
- 🥶 Freezes and crashes

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to login
- Application resets to starting value (1000elo)
- History/review chapters remain unlocked
- In-application feedback not functioning
- Rating feature broke

**Requested features**

- Option to mute sounds
- Ability to disable audio
- Allow loading custom puzzle sets
- Better interface and cable


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pulsar Chess Engine free?

Pulsar Chess Engine costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Chess Puzzles & Tactics free?

Chess Puzzles & Tactics is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Pulsar Chess Engine or Chess Puzzles & Tactics?

Chess Puzzles & Tactics is rated higher. Pulsar Chess Engine averages 4.3 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Chess Puzzles & Tactics averages 4.5 from 488 ratings.

### Do Pulsar Chess Engine or Chess Puzzles & Tactics have ads?

Chess Puzzles & Tactics shows ads; Pulsar Chess Engine does not.

### Which is updated more often, Pulsar Chess Engine or Chess Puzzles & Tactics?

Pulsar Chess Engine ships an update every 2 months, and Chess Puzzles & Tactics weekly. Most recently, Pulsar Chess Engine was updated on October 29, 2026 and Chess Puzzles & Tactics on October 27, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*