# Tideword — Trace words, beat the tide

> Trace words, beat the tide (iPhone/iPad app by Michael Alemayehu.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tideword/id6804438895 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Michael Alemayehu](https://appshunter.io/developer/6802934359)
- Category: Games, Puzzle, Word
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 13 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-08-28
- Data updated: 2026-09-18
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tideword/id6804438895/reviews.md

## What is Tideword?

Dive into Tideword — a deep-water word puzzle where every word you trace holds back the rising tide.

Drag across touching letters to spell words on a jewel-like board. Words of 5+ letters trigger the signature UNRAVEL, clearing the tiles around your path and detonating cascades. Chain words for huge combos — but keep the board low, because the tide never stops rising.

FEATURES
• 104 handcrafted levels across 8 themed chapters — from The Shallows to The Abyss
• The Unravel: long words clear everything around them for massive scores
• Tide Pools: a calm mode with no tide, no timer, and no way to lose
• The Descent: endless levels that continue after the campaign
• Word Log: every new word you find pays coins and joins your collection
• Obstacle tiles to master: ice, stone, and spreading rot
• Boss battles every 10 levels and celebratory bonus rounds
• Six boosters — Shuffle, Freeze, Bomb, Hint, Vowel Drop and Ebb
• A daily reward streak and a shared daily challenge
• Play offline — no connection required

Easy to learn, endlessly escalating, and always fair. Can you reach The Abyss?

Trace. Unravel. Beat the tide.

TIDEWORD PLUS (OPTIONAL SUBSCRIPTION)
Tideword is free to play. Tideword Plus is an optional auto-renewing subscription that removes ads and gives unlimited lives.

• Tideword Plus Monthly — $4.99 per month
• Tideword Plus Annual — $29.99 per year, starting with a 7-day free trial

Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of that period. Manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when a subscription is purchased.

Privacy Policy: https://mikemeda.github.io/tideword/privacy.html
Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tideword Plus Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Tideword Plus Annual | $29.99 | per year |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Handful of Pearls | $1.99 | one-time |
| Pouch of Pearls | $3.99 | one-time |
| Chest of Pearls | $8.99 | one-time |
| Sunken Treasure | $19.99 | one-time |
| Starter Bundle | $2.99 | one-time |
| Power Bundle | $5.99 | one-time |
| Remove Ads | $3.99 | one-time |



## Version history (last 2 releases)

### 1.0.23 — 2026-09-02

The biggest update since launch. New ways for the sea to behave, sound for the first time, and a long list of fixes from what players hit on device.

NEW WAYS TO PLAY
• Charted Waters — levels now have a silhouette. A narrow chimney can drown while the bay beside it is still open water, so you read the shape instead of the same rectangle every time.
• Neap Tide — levels where the sea only brings a handful of letters. The question stops being "what showed up" and becomes "what can I still make from these seven".
• Salvage Chunks — driftwood carrying whole syllables. TH, ING, QU, EST and PRE arrive as single tiles and join straight into your word.
• Beachcomber's Album — four pages, forty-eight words to find, and finishing a page pays out. Every mode counts toward it.
• Tide Streak — clean runs now build something.

SOUND, FINALLY
Settings has offered Sound effects and Haptics since 1.0 with nothing behind them. That promise is kept. Every letter you add plays the next note up a pentatonic scale, so a long word climbs as you trace it — you hear the length before you see the score.

THE SEA ITSELF
• The waterline is a real surface now: a curve across the tops of the stacks that rises with the tide and dips into every column you've cleared.
• Water rises visibly up the board instead of a flat line marking the top.
• Redesigned home screen — the empty space is now the water column you're descending, with your depth marked on it.

FIXES
• The bottom row lets you trace properly. Words that started or ended on the last row could be cut short if your finger drifted below the board. Fixed.
• Clear the board to the floor and new rows arrive immediately instead of leaving you waiting on the tide timer. Playing well is no longer punished with waiting.
• An invalid word no longer shakes the whole board — the trace just goes slack. Reaching for a word that might not exist is the game; it shouldn't feel like a penalty.
• Coin packs grant up to 3.5x more than before. The old amounts were not worth their price.
• Buttons are properly outlined, bolder and better spaced throughout.
• Rewarded-ad failures now say what went wrong instead of silently doing nothing.

OPTIONAL REMINDERS
The Notifications toggle in Settings finally does something. Two reminders a day at most, scheduled entirely on your device — no account, no server, nothing leaves your phone. Ignore them three times and they stop on their own.

### 1.0.20 — 2026-08-28

No release notes.

## More apps by Michael Alemayehu

- [Culprit: Daily Mystery Game](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/culprit-daily-mystery-game/id6802933996)
- [RANSOM: Word Cut Puzzle](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ransom-word-cut-puzzle/id6806103394)

All apps by Michael Alemayehu: https://appshunter.io/developer/6802934359

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-18.*