ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini, for games
Every game here runs inside your own assistant, but the apps differ. This is what we actually see when we test — updated as the apps change. The short version: all four can play; ChatGPT and Claude are the smoothest, and the printed dice tape means honest randomness even where there's no code tool.
| Capability | ChatGPT | Claude | Gemini | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open by link | full | full | partial | full |
| Auto-sends | partial | none | none | none |
| Fetches the game card | full | partial | partial | full |
| Code-tool dice | partial | full | partial | none |
| Saves & resume | full | full | full | full |
Open by link only finishes the job if the app can also fetch the card — on Claude and Gemini, turn web search on, or paste the card in instead. The cards whose answers live in a sealed file on this site — Aqua Regia, The Word-Hoard, The Counterfeit Lexicon, and The Chairman's Book — are the exception: pasting won't help, they need a chat that can open a link either way.
Last hand-tested in the consumer apps themselves, not the APIs — they don't behave the same. Rechecked monthly; if a cell here is wrong, it's stale, not spin.
ChatGPT
Prefill links load the game; it usually fetches the card. Code-tool dice on paid tiers; the printed tape covers the rest.
- Open by link full
- Auto-sends partial
- Fetches the game card full
- Code-tool dice partial
- Saves & resume full
Claude
Prefill loads the launch prompt for you to send (it never auto-runs — a deliberate safety choice). Turn web search on so it can fetch the card, paste the card in, or install the game as a Skill from its page — it stays put on any plan once code execution is on under Settings → Capabilities. Its analysis tool gives the most trustworthy dice of the four.
- Open by link full
- Auto-sends none
- Fetches the game card partial
- Code-tool dice full
- Saves & resume full
Gemini
Prefill links are hit-and-miss — the sure path is Copy the play prompt on the game page, then paste it into a new chat. It reads a pasted game card cleanly. Saves and resume behave exactly as they do everywhere else.
- Open by link partial
- Auto-sends none
- Fetches the game card partial
- Code-tool dice partial
- Saves & resume full
Perplexity
Prefill and fetching both work; no code tool, so dice come from the printed tape. Fine for shorter games.
- Open by link full
- Auto-sends none
- Fetches the game card full
- Code-tool dice none
- Saves & resume full