Chess Arcade
Play chess-related mini-games, like Guess the Elo
Launched on April 6, 2026
1000+ Elo
Chess Arcade is a free chess minigame app by GoudaChess for Android and iOS. Instead of long classical matches, you play short, high-energy challenges that train Elo intuition, engine evaluation, blunder spotting, brilliant moves, and checkmate vision. Climb XP ranks from Wood Pusher to The Engine, duel friends, and compete on global leaderboards.
Estimated Elo
1000+ Elo
Recommended from 1000+ Elo overall, but each mode plays very differently. Difficulty ratings (1 = easiest, 5 = hardest):
- Guess the Elo: ★★★★★ (5/5). Scrub through a full real game and guess the players' average rating. The toughest mode.
- Guess the Eval (Easy): ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5). Pick whether White or Black is better. Simple, even below 1000 Elo.
- Guess the Eval (Hard): ★★★☆☆ (3/5). Guess the exact engine evaluation on a slider. Moderately challenging.
- Blunder Hunter (Easy): ★★☆☆☆ (2/5). Replay a game and spot the obvious blunder move.
- Blunder Hunter (Normal): ★★★☆☆ (3/5). Replay a game and lock in the blunder. A solid middle ground.
- Blunder Hunter (Hard): ★★★★☆ (4/5). Replay a game and find subtle blunders. Requires a sharp eye.
- Find the Grandmaster: ★★★☆☆ (3/5). Three games, one grandmaster. Spot which game was played by the GM.
- Find the Brilliants: ★★★★☆ (4/5). Find the brilliant moves in a real game.
- Is It Checkmate?: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5). Decide if the position is checkmate. Quick tactical reading.
Chess minigames that train real skills
Every mode is built around real games and positions. Ranked play spends Focus and earns XP, stats, and achievements. Practice mode lets you train freely without Focus or XP when you just want to warm up.
- Guess the Elo: scrub through a full real game and guess the players’ average rating (about 100–3000 Elo).
- Guess the Eval: Easy: pick which side is better. Hard: guess the engine evaluation on a precise slider.
- Blunder Hunter: Easy, Normal, or Hard: find the worst move in a real game, with optional Show Why replay.
- Find the Brilliants: lock the brilliant moves in a game and score how accurately you spotted them.
- Is It Checkmate?: decide whether a position is forced checkmate; trains hard-read precision.
- Find the Grandmaster: three games, one played by a GM: spot the masterpiece among the decoys.
Survival mode and Daily Gauntlet
Survival mixes Guess the Elo, Guess the Eval, Blunder Hunter, and Is It Checkmate into one timed marathon: three lives, one clock, and a climb up the Survival leaderboard (today through all-time). Unlock Survival at level 5 when signed in.
Daily Challenges (Today’s Gauntlet) give three rotating tasks each day. Finish them all to claim XP and keep your day streak alive, covering everything from blunder hunts to Elo precision goals.
XP, ranks, achievements, and Focus
Earn XP from ranked puzzles and rise through levels 1–20 with titles like Wood Pusher, Tactician, Candidate, Master of Squares, Grandmaster, and The Engine. Multi-tier achievements (Bronze through Diamond) track streaks, perfect guesses, Survival scores, and more.
Focus is the energy for ranked games. It regenerates over time, refills with perfect scores or rewarded ads, and is unlimited on the Grandmaster subscription. Free players get ads and a 7-day history window; Grandmaster removes ads, unlocks full history, and unlimited Focus.
Duels, friends, and leaderboards
Challenge friends or rivals to asynchronous Duels on the same puzzle set: configure modes, puzzle count, and duration, then compare scores for a win, loss, or draw. Build a friends list, open public profiles, and climb global or friends leaderboards across XP, Elo accuracy, eval, blunders, brilliants, GM spotting, and checkmate vision.
Who Chess Arcade is for
Chess Arcade suits chess fans who want short sessions instead of long games: club players sharpening intuition, puzzlers chasing streaks, and anyone who enjoys Guess the Elo-style content. Guest play is available with limits; create a free account to save progress across Android and iOS. Made by GoudaChess in the Netherlands.