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Normal Topic iOS chess apps list (Read 2223 times)
cathexis
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Re: iOS chess apps list
Reply #5 - 08/25/20 at 02:56:08
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I may do that. I just got CT-ART 6.0 pc download last week and now I'm wondering if I should pick up any more items before the Aug. sale runs out. It came as a bundle of programs,  however I haven't owned any previous versions so don't know if that's usual or not. But why buy what's free? That's the real reason I was asking, FWIW. I understand about in-app purchases; Steam tries to milk me for that stuff for my fav game "Skyrim" (other than chess that is). I never buy them. It feels borderline deceptive unless the developer is up front the game is trial-version only and anything as huge as Skyrim should be complete as is - your mileage may vary.
  
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an ordinary chessplayer
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Re: iOS chess apps list
Reply #4 - 08/25/20 at 00:59:28
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59 apps on the app store in the "More By" section. For other developers I have a number before the slash, e.g. from "1/7" to "7/7". But Chess King and ChessBase had so many apps I didn't bother with the numerator. When you see "1/2ch" it means the developer had some non-chess apps as well, but just two chess apps. "1/0ch" means the listed app isn't chess either.

"Chess King" could refer to the Chess King app itself, or to the group of 59 apps. With the Chess King group, for each app, they provide some content free so you can decide. Then within the app you can make an in-app purchase to get the full content. --OR-- You can do the in-app purchase from within the Chess King app. The second way you have just one app rather than 59. 

So not really free. There's a difference between "free" and "free with in-app purchases". Check the pricing on the in-app purchases. I didn't try to see if there's a more vs less expensive way to get the the full content.

Also 59 rather overstates the amount of unique content. For example, you can get CT-ART split into different smaller apps or as one "complete" app. In that one case I did check and the second way is less expensive.

Finally, you are correct that the same content is available for PC. If you want to know if the app version is limited, install the free sample and see.
  
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cathexis
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Re: iOS chess apps list
Reply #3 - 08/24/20 at 21:41:08
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My eyes are crossed from reading all that. A lot of work! I noticed a boatload of Chess King titles and wanted ask: Why the 59 after Chess King? So many of them are free, but I could swear the some of the same titles are for sale for PC, disc, etc. on the ChessOK site. Paying for disc I get but are these perhaps limited in some way? Maybe I misread but if they are free on iOS, wish they were free for PC too!<wink> 

You did a great job,
Andrew
  
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an ordinary chessplayer
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Re: iOS chess apps list
Reply #2 - 08/24/20 at 17:28:45
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And line 241 had too few commas. One of the many hazards of posting when I should already be asleep, I didn't check the file.

It's fixed now.
Removed ios-chess-apps-csv.txt
Attached ios-chess-apps-2-csv.txt
  
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gillbod
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Re: iOS chess apps list
Reply #1 - 08/24/20 at 14:57:55
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Fantastic work! Thanks so much for sharing. I'll go through this in detail. I can already see a couple in there that are worthy of further consideration which I had never looked at before (e.g. I'd never used Chess-Studio Database before).

Quick FYI: line 212 has too many commas, which is preventing this from being a valid CSV. This might make some programs struggle to decode this.

Thanks again! Looks like some painstaking work went into this.
  
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an ordinary chessplayer
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iOS chess apps list
08/24/20 at 06:02:00
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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:
  1. The developer did not meet their own goals. 
  2. The developer more or less met their goals but I have no use for their app. 
  3. The app is satisfactory but perhaps missing key functionality, so I might use it occasionally but probably not often. 
  4. 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. 
  5. 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.
« Last Edit: 08/24/20 at 17:25:35 by an ordinary chessplayer »  

ios-chess-apps-2-csv.txt ( 48 KB | 219 Downloads )
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