I was a little frustrated that none of my iOS apps behaved in exactly the way I wanted, so I decided to investigate more thoroughly, to see if there was anything I missed out on before. The result is the attached csv file, with 651 more-or-less chess apps. I didn't realize there were so many, and certainly any kind of search in the App Store will only turn up a hundred or so, many of them redundant. The way I found the others was by going to the "More By (developer)" and "You Might Also Like" sections, clicking the "See All" link, and following all those trails to the bitter end. It's not my intention to review these apps, but I am certainly willing to answer any questions. For that, look at the "ST" field which could be DL (downloaded) or PD (paid). These are the ones I installed. If an app is free, or has an evaluation version, then you should be able to draw your own conclusions. If an app is paid, and if I have in fact paid for it, then these are the ones where you could benefit from asking questions before committing your money. There is a "comments" field, somewhat pruned to get the file below chesspub's 50 KB limit. And there is a "stars" field, which is not what I would give an app on the App Store, but is just my own rating system: - The developer did not meet their own goals.
- The developer more or less met their goals but I have no use for their app.
- The app is satisfactory but perhaps missing key functionality, so I might use it occasionally but probably not often.
- The app is good or very good and I will be using it. An app in this bucket though is competing with other good apps.
- The app is good or very good and in particular has a feature that makes me want to use it all the time.
And what am I looking for in a chess app? I can't list everything, but here are some things I care strongly about that others possibly don't care about at all. - works offline - I don't have an unlimited data plan, and can't justifying paying for network usage just for chess.
- local storage with Files integration - Again, cloudy storage uses up my data plan. And my primary computer is Linux-based, so I don't have iTunes, therefore I need to move files using iOS-only tools.
- imports and exports pgn files (not individual games) - My primary concern is getting pgn files into the app. It's surprising how many otherwise feature-rich apps can't import pgn files.
- extensive options and settings - I absolutely must be able to turn off all those horrible arrows, highlights, meters, decorations, sounds, etc. And please, no fancy pieces or boards.
- minimum number of taps for "Next Game" - One tap is great, put a button right next to the board. Swiping for next game is also okay, although I prefer a button. Two taps is acceptable (Menu | Load Next Game). Anything beyond that, I'm getting a different app.
- decent list view - For when the "next" game that I want to see is actually hundreds of games away in my pgn file. A filter on the list is a bonus, but honestly I haven't seen a correctly implemented filter on iOS yet.
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