Comparison

Area Quiz vs Cracking the Cryptic

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Area Quiz

This math quiz app offers geometry puzzles and brain teasers with five difficulty levels. It helps improve logic, IQ, and mental math skills through engaging challenges. Draw notes, use hints, and share progress while enjoying offline play.

Highlights
  • Five difficulty levels
  • Unlock levels by solving
  • Draw notes on screen
  • Hints available
  • Offline play
  • Share progress
Features
Read full description

No complex calculations needed. The side lengths and areas required for solutions are always whole numbers. The key is your perspective and thinking skills! There are 5 difficulty levels, starting with easy questions. No need to be nervous! In the later stages, we’ve included some brain-teasing challenges. Enjoy the satisfaction of solving tough puzzles in this brain training game. It feels like a mix of puzzle games and brain teasers, offering a fun way to play! Features: - Five difficulty levels - Unlock levels by solving questions - Play any question in a level - Draw notes on the screen with your finger - Hints are available for all questions - Share images of your progress Explore the world of geometry with area and shape puzzles in this fun and challenging math quiz app. Test your logic and IQ with hundreds of questions designed to boost your brain power. Each level presents a new dimension of math games, from easy to hard, allowing you to practice and master your skills. Whether you're solving a square problem or a maze-like puzzle, this app is perfect for education and study. Train with brain teasers, improve your math speed, and become a true solver with this ultimate math drill! It’s like a cross math puzzle designed to boost your mental abilities. Perfect for anyone wanting to learn, this app offers a unique way to practice mental math and enhance problem-solving skills. Join the Quiz of Kings and take your brain to the next level with this powerful math training tool. The download is free, so feel free to give it a try! Note: The diagrams may differ from actual proportions to prevent solving by visual cues. Note: Ads are displayed in the game. You can remove ads through in-app purchases. Note: This game can be played offline. However, to access hint videos, you will need to be online as they require downloading.

About

Cracking the Cryptic

This app offers a curated collection of handcrafted Sudoku puzzles from world-renowned constructors. Explore classic and unique variants, with new puzzle packs released regularly. A free introductory pack is included with download.

Highlights
  • Handcrafted Sudoku puzzles
  • Curated by expert constructors
  • Classic and unique variants
  • Regularly released puzzle packs
  • Free introductory puzzle pack
Features
Read full description

OUR NEWEST PACK – CLASSIC VOLUME #2! Classic sudoku is where it all began, and there is still lots of skill to be deployed to solve classic puzzles, and new techniques to be explored. Nikoli, the Japanese puzzle house, named and popularised sudoku from 1984, and we have commissioned 20 puzzles from them for this Classic Sudoku 2 app. We have also created 20 ourselves, and sourced 20 more from Sam Cappleman-Lynes, the brilliant British sudoku expert. The result is a wonderful 60-puzzle pack which will delight and challenge you. -------------------- Welcome to the brand new Sudoku app from the most popular Sudoku channel, Cracking The Cryptic. Unlike other Sudoku apps, we feature handcrafted and curated puzzles from the world’s best Sudoku constructors. Each collection features puzzles made by various authors that are now familiar names to those who follow the channel. Authors like Phistomefel, Clover, Sam Cappleman-Lynes, Christoph Seeliger, Richard Stolk, jovi_al, Qodec, Prasanna Seshadri and of course, Simon and Mark! Downloading Cracking the Cryptic will give you access to our first free collection – a variety pack by Prasanna Seshadri featuring 7 puzzles inspired from our previous Sudoku apps; Sandwich, Classic, Chess, Thermo, Miracle, Killer and Arrow Sudoku. We also have purchasable packs designed for all skill levels and featuring many unique variants not seen previously. We’ll be releasing more free and paid packs in the future so keep an eye on the app for more Sudoku content from Cracking The Cryptic!

Screenshots

Area Quiz4 screens
Cracking the Cryptic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Area Quiz at 4.9 against Cracking the Cryptic's 4.4. Cracking the Cryptic's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Area Quiz sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Cracking the Cryptic sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Area Quiz holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cracking the Cryptic has 208 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of Area Quiz's written reviews are positive against 72% of Cracking the Cryptic's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Area Quiz ships an update every 5 months, Cracking the Cryptic every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Area Quiz versus Cracking the Cryptic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArea QuizCracking the Cryptic
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (11 ratings) — better4.4 (208 ratings)
Positive reviews63.0% of reviews72.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11208 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size117 MB234 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWasabi ApplicationsNick Carney

Customer experience

Area Quiz

All ratings11 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive63.0%
Neutral14.8%
Negative22.2%

Cracking the Cryptic

All ratings208 ratings
Positive84.1%
Neutral6.3%
Negative9.6%
Written reviews147 reviews
Positive72.1%
Neutral13.6%
Negative14.3%

Bugs and requests

Area Quiz

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Cracking the Cryptic

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Puzzle progress and purchases disappearing after updates
  • Incorrect rules or hints in certain puzzles
  • Crashes and freezes, especially on older devices or Macs
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between portrait and landscape modes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more color options for pencil marking and highlighting
  • Implement a way to clear progress or start puzzles from scratch
  • Integrate all CTC apps into a single app for better organization
  • Add keyboard support, especially on Mac
  • Improve the quality and clarity of hints

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Area Quiz

One-time2
  • Unlock All Hints$0.99
  • Ads Free$1.99
13 purchases

Cracking the Cryptic

One-time13
  • CTC Worms - James Sinclair$0.99
  • CTC Worms - Marty Sears$0.99
  • CTC Worms - Zetamath$1.99
Show 10 more
  • CTC Worms - Blobz$1.99
  • CTC Worms - Michael Lefkowitz$1.99
  • CTC Worms - Phistomefel$1.99
  • GAS Volume #1$2.99
  • GAS Volume #2$2.99
  • CTC Approachable Sudoku #1$2.99
  • Domino Sudoku Pack$4.99
  • Lines Variety Pack$4.99
  • Classic Volume #2$4.99
  • CTC Fog Pack #1$4.99

Questions

Is Area Quiz free?
Area Quiz is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cracking the Cryptic free?
Cracking the Cryptic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Area Quiz or Cracking the Cryptic?
Area Quiz is rated higher. Area Quiz averages 4.9 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Cracking the Cryptic averages 4.4 from 208 ratings.
Do Area Quiz or Cracking the Cryptic have ads?
Area Quiz shows ads; Cracking the Cryptic does not.
Which is updated more often, Area Quiz or Cracking the Cryptic?
Area Quiz ships an update every 5 months, and Cracking the Cryptic every 3 weeks. Most recently, Area Quiz was updated on October 12, 2026 and Cracking the Cryptic on October 14, 2026.

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