Tempo: Chess Mate Roguelite
Find the mate, or lose a light
$5.99 · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Twelve forced mates, three lights, one run. Every puzzle has exactly one answer — and the app proves it before it ships, rather than hoping.
Most chess puzzle apps hand you an endless stream and a rating that goes up and down. Tempo gives you twelve mates, three lights, and one run.
Find the forced mate. Get it wrong and it costs a light — and the wrong move is never played onto the board, because in a mate puzzle there is one answer and letting you build on a mistake would waste your time and then blame you for it. Run out of light and the run is over.
THE LADDER
Twelve puzzles: four mates in one, four in two, four in three. Every fourth is guarded by a warden that takes something away. The Blindfold turns off the legal-move dots. The Hourglass gives you ninety seconds. The Auditor charges two lights a mistake. The Veil turns their pieces into silhouettes until they move.
THE WORKSHOP
Solving pays coins. Between puzzles you can buy things you keep for the rest of the run: a free hint each puzzle, a steadier hand so one mistake does not break your streak, a stub of chalk that gives the move dots back no matter what the Blindfold says.
PUZZLES THAT ARE ACTUALLY CORRECT
Every position ships only after the app has proved it: exactly one first move forces mate, no faster mate exists by another route, and playing the whole line ends in checkmate. The move generator itself is verified against the standard published perft counts, which is the only test that reliably catches castling, en passant and pin errors.
The defence plays the reply that holds out longest, not the first one it finds — so a mate in three really takes three.
MADE TO BE PLAYED
Tap a piece to see where it can go. Tap again to move. A hint costs a light, so it is a decision rather than a free answer. No account, nothing to unlock, no connection required.
Ratings & Reviews
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The developer, Connor Dean, 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 Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Connor Dean
- Size
- 1.2 MB
- Category
- Board
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 18.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 18.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 18.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 15.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 2.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Connor Lee Dean
