Choose The Chess Variants Club
Choose The Chess Variants Club if you want a Sports and Simulation experience. On Steam, it's currently about 44% cheaper on the Steam Store. The Chess Variants Club launched in 2020.
The Chess Variants Club vs icosi-do
The Chess Variants Club and icosi-do both land in Strategy, Indie, Casual on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Strategy, Indie, Casual on Steam. The Chess Variants Club (2020) is 2 years older than icosi-do (2022). The Chess Variants Club is currently ~44% cheaper on Steam than icosi-do (4.99 USD vs. 8.99 USD). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose icosi-do
Choose icosi-do if you want the Steam Leaderboards, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, and Co-op side of the pairing. On Steam, it has co-op, so you can bring a friend. icosi-do launched in 2022.
Both The Chess Variants Club and icosi-do sit in Strategy, Indie, and Casual on Steam and both list Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Shared/Split Screen PvP, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Chess Variants Club |  icosi-do | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Genres | Sports, Strategy, Indie, Simulation, Casual | Strategy, Indie, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | 4.99 USD | 8.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.7% positive (23 reviews) | 3 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Minimol Games | Martin Kraus |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie, Casual on Steam.
- The Chess Variants Club (2020) is 2 years older than icosi-do (2022).
- The Chess Variants Club is currently ~44% cheaper on Steam than icosi-do (4.99 USD vs. 8.99 USD).
- icosi-do has co-op; The Chess Variants Club does not.
The Chess Variants Club vs icosi-do — FAQ
- Should I play The Chess Variants Club or icosi-do first?
- If you want chronology, The Chess Variants Club (2020) came out before icosi-do (2022). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are The Chess Variants Club and icosi-do similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie, Casual on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.