Chessnook · Chess & Xiangqi

Chess, Xiangqi & Banqi offline

Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.

New: Chess with adjustable AI, opening book, and Pro game analysis. Play Xiangqi, Banqi, or chess — fully offline, with a friendly dog mascot at your side. Chessnook is a cozy chess club for your pocket — a beginner-friendly, fully offline iPhone and iPad app for Chinese chess (Xiangqi), Banqi (Dark Chess / Flip Chess), and Western chess. A friendly dog mascot called Lil' General cheers you on, reacts to your moves, and softens losses with a wag of the tail. WHAT YOU GET • Standard Xiangqi — the full 9×10 board with River and Palace. Cross the river, ride the cannon, and corner the General. • Banqi (Dark Chess) — a 4×8 flip-board variant where every move reveals a new piece. Quick games, surprising swings. • Western chess — the classic 8×8 game with full standard rules, an opening book, endgame puzzles, and piece-by-piece tutorials. • 14 endgame puzzles — classical mate-in-1 patterns, from Lone Chariot Mate and Horse-and-Cannon to Iron Bolt and Bold Sacrifice. • Step-by-step tutorials — learn how each piece moves, then how it really fights. • Adjustable AI — gentle Easy for newcomers, tough Master for veterans. • Local 2-player mode — pass-and-play on a single device. • Save & resume — pick up exactly where you left off. DESIGNED FOR COZY PLAY • A friendly dog mascot reacts to every move and never lectures. • Five hand-crafted board themes — Classic, Ocean, Space, Jungle, Candy. • Thoughtful sound and music with independent volume controls. • Three languages — Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese — switch any time from inside the app. • Optimised for iPhone and iPad, including landscape and split-view layouts. 100% OFFLINE • No accounts. No sign-ups. No servers. • Play on a train, on a plane, or on the couch. CHESSNOOK PRO (one-time, optional) Unlock the full experience with a single purchase: • All 5 board themes • Remove all ads • Save & resume in-progress games • Full set of endgame puzzles More variants on the way. Need help? Visit support from the Settings tab inside the app.

Ratings & Reviews

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1.0.2 • Western chess is here — full standard rules, adjustable AI from gentle to tough, opening book, endgame puzzles, and piece-by-piece tutorials. The Tutorial tab and stats now split Xiangqi and chess so each variant gets its own record. • Chessnook Pro extras for Western chess: opening-name chip on the board, hint arrow for hard endgames, and a Swift Charts game-analysis timeline with move-quality classification — tap a move to walk the board. • Standard Xiangqi: pieces now move freely with no check restrictions — capture the opponent's general to win. Endgame puzzles keep classic rules. • Banqi: fixed an issue where cannons could jump-capture face-down pieces. The folk "Dark Capture" variant is now opt-in under Settings → Banqi Rules. • Smoother puzzle victory — the celebration now waits a beat so you can see your winning move land.

Version 1.0.2

The developer, Chih Han Lin, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

  • Data Used to Track You

    The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies:

    • Identifiers

  • Data Linked to You

    The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

    • Identifiers

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Accessibility

The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More

Information

Seller
  • Chih Han Lin
Size
  • 10.1 MB
Category
  • Board
Compatibility
Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
  • iPhone
    Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
  • iPad
    Requires iPadOS 17.0 or later.
  • Mac
    Requires macOS 14.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
  • Apple Vision
    Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
Languages
English and 2 more
  • English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese
Age Rating
4+
In-App Purchases
Yes
Copyright
  • © Nonotoday LLC
  • Developer Website
  • Privacy Policy

    • More by Chih Han Lin

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