Comparison

Five Elements Chess vs Phantom Words

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

Head to head
About

Five Elements Chess

Engage in strategic spell duels with this match-three game. It blends elemental theory with puzzle mechanics for a unique gameplay experience. Enjoy both local and online player-versus-player battles.

Highlights
  • Match-three gameplay
  • Five Elements theory integration
  • Deep strategy
  • Zen-inspired visuals
  • Local PvP
  • Online PvP
Features
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Five Elements Chess is a spell-duel game that combines the Five Elements theory and match-three gameplay. Features • Simple rules, deep strategy • Calm, Zen-inspired visual style • A balance of strategy and luck that anyone can enjoy • Local and online PvP

About

Phantom Words

Unscramble letters by sliding rows and columns to form words. Discover hidden letters as you play, with increasing complexity and new mechanics introduced. Offers multiple game modes for varied challenges.

Highlights
  • Sliding row and column puzzles
  • Hidden letter discovery
  • Progressive difficulty
  • Multiple game modes (Classic, Endless, Daily, Lightning)
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Game Center leaderboards
Features
Currently charting
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We made Phantom Words for anyone who loves that small, satisfying moment when a jumble of letters suddenly turns into a word. Each board begins scrambled, with most of the letters hidden behind ghost tiles. Slide rows and columns like a 2D Rubik’s Cube, then look for words running across or down the board. Whenever you make one using a tile for the first time, another letter appears. Once every tile is used, the puzzle is complete. Longer words are worth more, while tiles lose value each time you use them. Yellow means a tile is nearly spent; red means you’ve leaned on it too often. Later boards introduce gaps that split rows and columns, multi-letter tiles that keep their letters together, wildcards that can stand in for any letter, and locked tiles that stay fixed until you use them in a word. And if a solution feels messy, you can always come back and find a more elegant one. There are four ways to play: • Classic has 99 handmade levels with increasing difficulty and evolving mechanics. • Endless starts small and procedurally grows while you play. • Daily Challenge gives everyone a new board each day, plus a streak to keep going. • Lightning Mode is the same word hunting, but against the clock. Classic, Endless, and Daily Challenge aren’t timed, so there’s no rush. You get a full score breakdown after each level and can replay it whenever you want. Your progress and settings sync across your devices with iCloud. There are also Game Center leaderboards if you care about high scores. We hope you enjoy discovering the words we’ve hidden for you.

Screenshots

Five Elements Chess4 screens
Phantom Words4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Five Elements Chess at Free against Phantom Words's $2.99. Five Elements Chess also leads on ratings volume (103 vs 22). Phantom Words's advantage is chart position (#45 vs unranked) and review sentiment (93% vs 82%). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Five Elements Chess is free to download; Phantom Words costs $2.99 up front. Five Elements Chess sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Phantom Words sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Five Elements Chess against 4.8 for Phantom Words. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 103 and 22 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 82% of Five Elements Chess's written reviews are positive against 93% of Phantom Words's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Five Elements Chess ships an update weekly, Phantom Words every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Five Elements Chess versus Phantom Words: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFive Elements ChessPhantom Words
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.8 (103 ratings)4.8 (22 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews93.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings103 — better22
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank—#45 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size280 MB131 MB
Age rating9++4
DeveloperMing GaoFleon Labs

Customer experience

Five Elements Chess

All ratings103 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral1.0%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral4.5%
Negative13.6%

Phantom Words

All ratings22 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive93.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Five Elements Chess

One-time3
  • Time Skin Pack$1.99
  • Five Elements Chess full game$3.99
  • Seasons Skin Pack$3.99
3 purchases

Phantom Words

One-time3
  • Kind Supporter$2.49
  • Generous Supporter$4.99
  • Huge Supporter$9.99

Questions

Is Five Elements Chess free?
Five Elements Chess is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Phantom Words free?
Phantom Words costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Five Elements Chess or Phantom Words?
Phantom Words is rated higher. Five Elements Chess averages 4.8 out of 5 from 103 ratings, while Phantom Words averages 4.8 from 22 ratings.
Do Five Elements Chess or Phantom Words have ads?
Neither Five Elements Chess nor Phantom Words shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Five Elements Chess or Phantom Words?
Five Elements Chess ships an update weekly, and Phantom Words every 5 days. Most recently, Five Elements Chess was updated on November 1, 2026 and Phantom Words on October 31, 2026.

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