Last updated on January 4th, 2026 at 09:58 am
Mini Chess on Watch – Board Game Review
Mini Chess on Watch is a Board game from Golmium Software Inc., first launched in 26th September 2019.
It’s rated 4+ and currently has 41+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes Mini Chess on Watch Stand Out
Mini Chess is a simplified, modern variant of the classic Chess. Played on a 5 x 5 board, with fewer pieces (one rook, knight and bishop and 5 pawns), each game can be played in minutes. Castling and pawn double-move are not allowed. Players have the option to face off against AI with 3 levels of difficulty. The game combines the fun and convenience of other play-while-you-wait games with intellectual stimulation of real Chess and is also a great way to introduce kids to the basics of Chess. This fast paced game is a perfect take on the timeless classic for our fast paced world.
This Board game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, Mini Chess on Watch is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 30th October 2025
Recent improvements include:
- General update for watchOS 11
- Improved user interface
- Streamlined difficulty selection with stars
- Added board color options
- New app icon
Download & Availability
Mini Chess on Watch is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Get Mini Chess on Watch on App Store
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
One of two things happen when we play this game. 1) we lose. Even the Novice setting is difficult with so little room to move around and only one of each back row piece. 2) It locks up. Ive been stuck many times with every move we try being illegal. Ill keep playing and update our review if it gets any better, but overall its not as much fun as we were led to believe.
Not easier, Not harder than classical chess. But just as much fun! Idk what drugs this person is on but you cant even call this a completed game. You dont even play as black! You will get more enjoyment and satisfaction taking 2 $1 bills out of your wallet and ripping them instead of buying this scam. Im going to say scam cause thats what it is a scam. Idk how this was ever approved for the App Store but learn from our mistake and do not buy this scam. For people that have bought this, you can go through apples refund program and hopefully get your money back. Hopefully apple pursue some sort of action against these developers scamming people with completed apps.
The game was not working so we deleted it from our watch and now we cant get it back.
Its not a chessboard that you would expect, buy it on your own will.
Whats interesting is that its a completely different game when you cut it down to this size. Not easier. Not harder. Just as much fun, which surprised us.
Though the game is great at the start and deserves 5 stars, by a week later we can continually beat the game by performing the same 8 moves. At the start we thought the AI was reacting to our moves based on previous moves and at least somewhat looking forward. Instead the AI reacts to all moves the same way. This is how we realized the 8 moves that will always lead to a checkmate. 1) (W) Queen Pawn move forward (B) reacts with Bishop Pawn takes Queen Pawn 2) (W) Knight to Queen Pawns starting square (B) reacts with Rook Pawn forward 3) (W) King Pawn takes pawn (B) reacts with King Pawn takes pawn 4) (W) Bishop Pawn takes pawn (B) Knight Threatens Queen 5) (W) Knight Pawn takes Knight (B) Queen Pawn takes pawn 5) (W) Queen put King in check (B) King moves in front of Queen 6) (W) Knight puts King in check (B) Queen takes Knight 7) (W) Queen moves up in line with King (B) Checkmate If you want we can send you a video. Please make AI somewhat smarter and get 5 stars from us. (Edit) we didnt know that there was an expert level. We have now set it to expert to see what happens. We added a star now that we know this. We tried Intermediate and can beat the game using the same combination of moves. We will now move on to expert. We finally won in Expert mode. If youre willing to sacrifice important pieces you can in fact win. 5 stars. Ok Expert is tougher.
Nice game. Really tough to beat though. Gor the developer, is there any way to change this to an easier difficulty level.
We live being able to pull this up and run through a game in a minute. Even though the computer plays hard, it is possible to beat it.
We love this game. Chess has always been so intimidating to us. This is much more approachable. We can confirm you can win pretty often. So the arxiv reference in the other review proves that starting first has the same advantage as not? Wasnt Gardners mini chess slightly different than this.
This doesnt work on our watch. We have a 5.0 iWatch. Can we get our money back.
Mini Chess for Apple Watch is extremely fun and an incredible way to pass time. The only thing that was not great (and the reason for only a 4 star) is how difficult it is. If you have no prior experience with chess this is not the place to start. It took us almost 30 tries to win Novice mode. It is possible, so dont listen to reviews that say otherwise. You can also find ways to beat it off of YouTube, google, etc.
Impossible to beat even on the easiest difficulty. The game also always forces you to start which puts you at a disadvantage. It runs nicely on our watch but we have lost every single game Ive played Update: (Added a star) Developer responded with proof that you can beat the game even if you start every time. It would be even better if the difference between the difficulties was even more substantial.
At first it was a great, challenging way to spend time. However, we soon noticed it would glitch and we wouldnt be able to make specific moves that would otherwise tip the game in our advantage. For example, our bishop wouldnt move in a certain diagonal direction when it should, or our pawn wouldnt move forward into an empty space. Its incredibly annoying. It also frequently freezes and we end up having to delete the app and redownload for it to work again.
Have had to uninstall and reinstall this app multiple times to work around the app freezing up on our watch. Overall, not a terrible app, but very limited possibilities to move the pieces. We would not purchase this app if given the chance.
This game is so hard and we play chess at a very high level. We thought it was cool to have chess on our Apple Watch but we havent won a single game on Novice and Expert. Hopefully future updates make it more fun.
Hi Ive got our knight in the center of the board and it wont move anywhere. What gives.
This game has repeatedly declared a stalemate on the hardest setting when Im just about to win. Best avoided.
We guess our fault. We wanted a full chess board and didnt realize its half the pieces. Our fault, signs are there. We just missed it. Mini chess takes everything we love about chess and throws it away. Sorry, this game is not for us.
Our app is frozen; it says your move but is unresponsive. Deleted from watch to try to reinstall, but having trouble getting it back on now.
Played 6 games lost 6 games. Well game seems to be frozen and says our move and it wont let us move closed the game and reopen and still doesnt work. Even free is not worth getting this trash of application.
The game becomes frustrating because you dont have as much room as regular chess.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 3.0
- Size: 1.33 MB
- iOS: 18.0 or later
- Languages: EN
- Content Advisory:
- Developer: [Golmium Software Inc.]()
Last updated: 30th October 2025 | Genre: Board | Developer: Golmium Software Inc.